Banished
by WulfyFang3
Summary: "All my life I've been...different. It's not the type of different as like a realization that I'm gay or something; it's more like...I'm not a human." Matthew is from another realm-banished to Earth. What happens when he falls for a certain Prussian?
1. Intro

**This is the (very long) intro to a story I am working on. This is my first time ever attempting a story with chapters, so please bear with me on the varying lengths and time in between submissions. I don't think I will make this story very long either...I don't really even have a complete plot yet, but I am definitely working on it! I have already decided that it is going to be a pairing between Matthew and Gilbert (maybe with an M rating-I am not too sure how well I do with that type of scene...yet). So anyway, please enjoy my incredibly long intro, and please rate and review and what-not.**

**I own nothing!**

**(oh, p.s., please let me know if you find any grammatical or spelling errors-especially with keeping to one tense, I tend to have a hard time with that-I would greatly appreciate it!)  
><strong>

* * *

><p>All my life I've been...different. It's not the type of different as like a realization that I'm gay or something; it's more like...I'm not a human.<p>

I was, in human terms, a pre-pubescent twelve-year-old when my whole world collapsed. I was born in another realm called Vaneshk to the royal family; I was "offspring number two," born of the king's favorite wife. Unfortunately (for me), a tragedy shook the nation-the first son, the heir to the throne, died...or rather, insisted on ruining my life by killing himself thus making me the next in line.

While that normally wouldn't have been too bad, in my case I had just about thirty other children of the king wanting my position. Basically they wanted to get rid of everybody else in order to ensure their "birth right." There was only one thing stopping them from killing me in my sleep: additional "security" to make sure I didn't try to "escape" the same way my stupid brother did.

So instead of offing me, they set me up for a huge, unforgivable crime resulting in my banishment from the entire. Freaking. Realm. A little harsh for a kid..or am I the only one who thinks that? Anyway, so there I was, a twelve-year-old, being banished from his family, his country, and his _race_...all because I was the (reluctant) heir to the king. Great childhood memories, right?

When I was facing the portal that would take me away forever, I only knew two things about my future home: one-they're so under-developed that they don't even know about the existence of other realms; and two-the race of my new people is human.

I stepped through the portal-no tears, no looks back (my mother couldn't/didn't even hug me goodbye), and I woke up with a male human prodding my body. Not quite understanding what he was saying, I pulled out my translator; he was speaking a language called French. I scanned the language into my brain so we could communicate.

"Little boy, are you OK? Why are you lying on the ground in the middle of the forest? Where are you're parents? What's your-"

"Please slow down," I interrupted. "Er...I don't know why I'm here...or where _here_ is...and I don't know who I am..."

Concerned, he inspected my head. I could only pray to the Great One that the form-changer had worked and I resembled a typical human instead of my people.

"I don't see any signs of a concussion," he started, looking deep into my eyes, "Are you sure you can't remember anything?" I shook my head no. He sighed and picked me up, "I suppose I can't just leave you out here; my house is not too far. I'll have to call the police to report a lost boy..." He continued mumbling to himself the entire walk to his place. I was a little nervous about the mention of police (whatever that was), but was too tired to care all that much. I knew for a fact that there was no way anyone would ever believe where I came from, so I'd just have to stick to my memory-loss lie.

We reached his house and after he set me down on a comfortable chair-thing, he went to a different room where I heard him talking to somebody. A while later, two men, whom I assumed were authoritative figures, were talking with the one who found me. One of them looked to me and smiled gently. He knelt just in front of where I was perched on what I later learned was a sofa.

"Hello there little boy, can you tell me your name?"

"I don't know who I am...for some reason the only thing I can remember is that I am twelve. I can't recall anything else from before...erm..." I looked to the one who carried me, realizing that I didn't know his name.

"Francis. Francis Bonnefoy," He smiled.

"Sorry, thanks; before Francis found me. I don't remember my family...if I have one...I'm sorry I can't be much help." I gaze at the men around me sheepishly.

"No, no, it is not your fault." The man stood up. "Mr. Bonnefoy, would you allow this boy to stay with you until we find a suitable place for him at an orphanage?"

"Well, I suppose not, I wouldn't mind some company."

The second officer, who had said nothing so far, handed something to me. "If you ever need anything, or if you happen to remember anything, my name and number are on this card." With that, they left, leaving Francis and I in an awkward silence.

Francis cleared his throat, looking at his wrist. "Wow, it's this late already? Are you hungry?" he asked, looking at me. As if for an answer, a loud noise erupted from my stomach. I looked down and placed my hands carefully on it.

"I think that means yes?" I asked, not entirely sure. Where I come from, our stomachs don't do that; when we require food, our body leaks fluids profusely (kind of like sweat).

Francis laughed and nodded his head, "I think so. I'll make something really quick so you can bathe before bed."

I peered at him confused, "Bathe...?"

A shocked expression darkened his face as he realized that I honestly had no idea what he meant. "You're serious." I nodded hesitantly. "Oh...wow...what could've possibly happened to you that you don't even know what bathing is?" He shook his head slowly, "I suppose I'll have to help you, then..."

I looked down, too ashamed to meet his gaze. I panicked when I felt my face heating up. Was something wrong with me? "Francis!" He jumped slightly at the urgency in my voice, rushing to my side immediately. "I think there's something wrong with my face! It's all warm!"

He looked at me incredulously, noting the terrified tears forming in the corners of my eyes. "It's all right, you're only blushing. There's nothing wrong with you, everyone blushes-some more, or less, than others.

"Really? I-I'm OK?" I was so relieved, I seriously thought the form-changer was malfunctioning or something. I felt my face, thankful to find it wasn't melting. I brushed against my mouth, "A-am I...smiling? I've never...smiled before..." I'd never had anything worth smiling over-my whole life up until now sucked (emotionally, not physically).

Francis' eyes widened, "You haven't? Wait...I thought you couldn't remember anything?" They narrowed just as fast as they had grown.

I blushed again, "I...don't like talking to people I'm...unfamiliar with."

"You're talking to me."

"You're...different. I feel that I can trust you..." And it was true, I did feel that-I felt that I could trust him more than anyone else I had ever met. I considered telling at least him the truth, but refrained because I supposed I wouldn't be with him for very long.

Francis smiled and stood up, dragging me with him. "I am glad to hear that. Come, help me make sandwiches."

I didn't even bother asking what sandwiches are, I figured I'd be finding out for myself soon enough. While we were eating, Francis looked up at me, swallowing his mouthful. "I just realized something." I look at him curiously, waiting for him to continue. "We need to figure out a name for you, or else this whole situation could become rather awkward."

I smiled, I'd never had a name before either. When it comes to being one of many offspring of the king, we are only referred to by number. In my case, I was offspring number two of wife number one. One of the younger half-siblings I would frequently visit was offspring number twenty-four of wife number five.

"Give me a while to think of something suitable...do you have any preferences?" I shook my head, knowing nothing of the naming system here. We finished eating and he took me to his room so we could find something for me to wear to bed. "We're going to have to go into town tomorrow so I can get you some proper clothes," he stated, looking at the only article I had-a tattered pair of pants that stayed up only with the assistance of a tightly-knotted rope (the only clothing I was allowed to take with me).

"I don't want to be a burden." He was already doing so much for me. "I don't need any other clothing, but I am interested in finding out what a _town_ is."

"Don't be ridiculous, I can't have you going around in nothing but over-sized rags and rope! That just won't do. Now, let's see..." He started mumbling to himself as he went through compartments of a really big box full of different kinds of clothes, ignoring my every protest. He sighed, pulling out a pair of really short pants, "I suppose these will have to do, though they are going to be quite loose. We can cover that up with a t-shirt."

I simply nodded, once again understanding nothing. Francis led me out of the room to a slightly smaller one across the hall.

"The bathroom is right over here, towels are kept in this closet. You can use my shampoo and body wash." I just stood in the doorway, unsure of what I was supposed to do. I looked around and jumped slightly when I saw another boy looking at me-just as surprised as I was.

I peered closer, the other boy doing the same, until I realized that it was a reflection. That boy was me...it was my first time seeing myself in this form. I looked a lot like Francis, pale, wavy fur that reached my shoulders, a single strand curling out from the rest-I assumed that that was my human equivalent to my antenna. My eyes were an unusual color-one I was not familiar with.

"Everything OK?" Francis' voice broke my train of thought. He was looking at me with a bemused expression.

"This is what I look like?" I turned back to my reflection, trying to look at every part of me I could. I was considerably smaller than my previous body, a lot thinner too. I didn't have any exterior armor, just really pale flesh, slightly tinged red around my face where I assumed I was blushing again. Instead of claws, like I used to have, I had something softer and thinner, and surprisingly, they weren't sharp! How was I expected to defend myself should some situation arise?

Francis chuckled as I checked myself out. "Let me guess, you've never seen your reflection before?"

I looked away from myself and into his eyes, my voice ringing with honesty. "Not in this form I haven't." I went back to studying myself, just barely registering his eye fur raise. I spun my head back to him, amazed. "Wow! You can move those things?" I reached over and ran a finger over one of them.

His eyes widened at my sudden closeness and statement. "Yes...and so can you. You're doing it right now."

"I am?" I looked at my image, noticing my eye furs were arched. "How did I do that?"

"Your facial muscles...are you sure you're alright? I mean, not even knowing you can move your eyebrows when you most obviously can, panicking over a blush, and what did you mean earlier by '_not in this form_'?" He sat down on a white, shiny chair-thing staring me in the eye, determined to get answers.

"So they're called eyebrows?" I asked, trying to change the subject, but he wasn't having any of that. He crossed his arms, just sitting there, waiting. It was starting to make me nervous. I sighed in defeat, "Fine. I'll tell you the truth. On two conditions."

"Which are?"

"First of all, it's going to be really shocking, so you need to keep an open mind about it. I'm not kidding-you won't believe me if you don't." He nodded, a bit confused. "And second, you cannot, **absolutely cannot**, tell anybody else! No one can know where I came from! Promise me."

"All right, I promise about the first part, but I think I should hear your story before I promise not to tell anyone; I don't want to get in trouble with the law for possibly harboring a fugitive or a runaway."

"Fair enough, but I assure you, I am neither of those things; I'm an exile." His eyebrows shot up, but he remained silent so I could continue. He didn't make a sound the entire story. He just sat still as a statue. Finally, I reached the part where he had found me, "And when I woke up, you were poking me, speaking in an unknown language. So I used my translator that way I could understand you." I pulled the little machine out of my pocket, showing it to him. "It's one of the few things I was allowed to take with me."

"OK...I'm going to play along with this for now...it's a pretty far-fetched story, you must admit." I nodded in agreement. "So how exactly...erm...I mean to say...what did your siblings do to get you...banished?"

"My mother, wife number one, had just given birth to her third child. They killed her during the night and placed the bloodied weapon in my quarters."

"They killed the baby?" I sighed in affirmation. "That's horrible! And your father actually believed it was you? And exiled you because of it?"

"Well, killing anyone, let alone a newborn, is considered unforgivable. And my father is king, with around thirty other children and a lot more important things to do than to get to know each and every one of us. Plus, it was no big loss to the nation, they still have plenty of other heirs to choose from..."

"That is still no reason to banish a child! I'm sorry, but I don't think there's any way you'd ever kill anyone."

I smiled sadly at him, "That's how it is, nothing we can do about it. So you believe me?"

"Well...not completely...is there any way you can prove you're not human except for this...contraption? I mean, this could be anything-I'm not exactly 'technologically knowledgeable'."

"There is one thing, but I'm not sure I could do it with this body-I don't have a way of form-changing back and forth, either. Let me see what I can do..." I lift my arm and point it at the reflector, concentrating harder than I used to have had to. It started shaking violently, then all of a sudden, it burst-thousands of shards flying at me. I felt the familiar fluidity searing through my body-making me like an embodiment of water. The shards passed right through me, then stopped midair. They flew back in place onto the wall, reforming the reflector perfectly, looking as though it never shattered.

I felt my body become solid again, the fluidity leaving as though being rinsed off. I kept it in my hand only, holding it out so he could feel it. Francis tentatively wrapped his hand around mine, gasping as it went through.

"How did you...?"

"When my people reach a certain age, one of the underlings of the Great One will bless them. I was blessed by Yapshnu-'the being of water'." I let the rest of the liquid drain, becoming like that of a normal human hand again.

"But if you were blessed by a water...being, how did you shatter the mirror?"

"Everyone in Vaneshk can do that. Is there a word for an ability to do things with your mind here?"

"We call the ability itself telekinesis, but if you were referring to a person with that ability, they'd be called psychic."

"OK, so in terms you could understand, everyone in Vaneshk is psychic. So...do you believe me now? I'm afraid that if you don't, there isn't anything else I could show you to try and prove it..."I glanced to his face through my fur, hopeful that he would trust my word and that it wasn't a mistake to tell him.

"I'd have to be either blind or stupid to not believe you after witnessing that. Besides, I don't think you'd lie-you have an honest face." He smiled reassuringly, I beamed back. "And I swear, I won't tell a soul. Alright, now that we have that out of the way, you really need a bath, you're covered in dirt."

So he taught me how to bathe myself (something we never needed in my realm)-for some reason that I couldn't figure out at the time, he kept blushing the entire time. He showed me to the room I'd be sleeping in and left me to my thoughts. I looked around, the human world is so hard to get used to; instead of the pod-like hammocks I was used to, these people sleep on large, flat, squishy things. I sighed, I wondered if I'd ever adapt.

~O0O~

I spent the next two weeks learning everything I could about the human realm-it wasn't too hard thanks to two factors: humans' brains are horribly under-developed in comparison to my people, but yet they managed to create the beauty of internet-containing everything I'd every need to know about this place. The second factor was Francis' huge library, filled with so many books that it'd take me a year to read them all.

One day, I was sitting in my favorite chair reading a human anatomy volume when there was a knock on Francis' front door. Francis was busy with work, so I went to answer it. I opened the door and the two officers who came the day Francis had found me were standing there.

"Hello there, hope you've been faring well," the shorter man smiled.

I smiled back and let them inside. "Yes, Francis has been very generous. And thanks to him, I've learned so much about the world! Unfortunately, I still can't remember anything about me." I led them to the study, knocking lightly. "Francis? Those two police officers are here." There was a soft shuffling as he got up and opened the doors.

"Ah, bonjour officers," he said, allowing them passage.

I made to leave them alone, but was stopped by a hand on my shoulder. The taller of the two gently steered me back toward the study. "This involves you, so you should stay." Everyone sat down but me, I remained standing next to Francis' desk.

The shorter officer spoke, "We heard that...I'm sorry, but what have you been going by since you can't remember your name? It would be awfully rude to just call you 'boy' all the time."

"Francis gave me the name Matthieu, he said it suited me," I responded, blushing a little.

"Ah, so it does. So, we heard that Matthieu has been...learning...about the world?" He turned toward Francis. "What exactly does he mean by that?"

Francis shrugged, "Exactly what he said-he can't remember anything from before I found him, so he's been studying up on the world. I have a fairly decent library, a computer, my own knowledge...is there a problem with that?"

"No, I was just curious."

"So what exactly did you need?"

"Oh, right! My apologies; we have found an orphanage for Matthieu, everything is already set up. All he needs to do is pack whatever belongings he has and we can go." My eyes widened-I'd completely forgotten about the orphanage, and by the look on his face, I could guess that Francis had, too.

I gathered the clothes Francis had bought me my second day here along with my stuffed polar bear.

The officers glanced at me inquiringly, "What's with the bear? Surely you're too old for such a thing?"

"Francis said that it's unhealthy to not have any friends at my age, so he got me Kumajiro as a comfort toy." I hugged Kuma to my chest as the taller man took my bag. I turned to Francis, who was standing in the doorway of his study. I tried to read his expression, hoping that he might find a way for me to stay-I really didn't want to go...

"It was nice having some company, I really enjoyed our time together..." He extended his hand awkwardly, "So...erm...good luck, Matthieu." I shook it, a little disappointed, and went outside to the car.

I was silent the entire ride to my new home; the officers assured me that I would like it there and that I'd be adopted in no time, but I wasn't paying attention. Soon, we arrived at the orphanage; I was introduced to the lady who ran the place, Mrs. Willows, I didn't like her.

~O0O~

The next few weeks were some of the most miserable in my life: I never attempted to make friends, due to my apparent shyness around new people, and no one really noticed I was there; my only companion was Kuma (I wasn't complaining too much about that part); Mrs. Willows was a pretentious bitch-trying to control everyone, constantly putting us all down...she abused her "power" to no end. It was horrible.

I was seriously considering just running away-it'd be better than this hell, and I highly doubted that anyone would notice me long enough to consider to want to adopt me. But I knew that there was no way a twelve-year-old could make a living on his own, save for prostitution-which was so far from being an option that I just flat-out refused to think about it.

I was sitting on my bed one day, cuddling Kuma and thinking about that anatomy book I had been reading. My mind wandered to Francis and all the fun times we had-like when he taught me how to make pancakes (my favorite food in the human realm-I'm serious, nothing could ever compare). I missed him.

I jumped slightly when Mrs. Willows suddenly burst into my room. I followed her out, confused, when she told me to go with her-grabbing all of my stuff in the process.

"Is something happening? Am I moving into a new room?"

"You're being adopted, now be quiet and try to act like you're worth the amount I'm charging." I was too shocked to retort. I couldn't believe I was actually being adopted! At the same time, I was sad; as stupid as it sounds, I had always held on to a little hope that Francis would come to take me back...I knew that any other family I'd have to join wouldn't be the same-I would never be able to trust them like I did with him...I sighed dejectedly. I should've run away when I had the chance-it'd spare the new "folks" years of frustration, coldness, and possible heart break...

"Matthieu! How have you been? I'm sorry it took me so long-but after all, the decision to adopt a boy one had only known for a few short weeks is not one to make lightly." My round eyes looked up in surprise as I found a smiling Francis standing with his arms held out. I ran into his welcoming embrace, the wide grin hurting my cheeks. "Plus, I had to figure out where exactly you had been taken."

I buried my face in his chest as he ran his fingers through my hair. "I really missed you, Francis. I was hoping you'd come back for me..." I told him honestly. "Are you seriously adopting me?" I looked into his eyes uncertain and hopeful.

"What kind of monster would I be to come here, filling you with so much joy, only to just leave saying it was all a joke?"

"A horrible one," I laughed, hiding my face again.

So Francis adopted me, I finally got to leave that annoying crap-hole, and I was still smiling like an idiot.

* * *

><p><strong>Quick question for anyone willing to answer: what do you think about the title of my story? I had a hard time trying to think of one, and this just came to me. Please review to let me know-and also tell me what you thought of this intro. Please and thank you!<strong>


	2. Chapter 1

**This is Ch 1 of the story-I apologize for how long it took me to write it (I spent quite a while trying to think of what I wanted to have happen). As you can see, this chapter alternates between POVs, as I think I'll be doing the same with the other chapters...**

**I realized something rather upsetting after I had already submitted the intro, and I apologize profusely for it: if there was a child reported to be found and have no recollection what-so-ever about his past, the police, first of all, would not have him stay with a complete, possibly untrustworthy, stranger, nor would they put him in an orphanage-they would more than likely put him into foster care until they could find his parents or whatever. So for the sake of my story, let's just pretend the two cops were both new and stupid and were unaware of typical protocol... yeah...anyway...**

**I also apologize for fear that my "skill" in other languages is lacking...in the sense that I only speak English, Americanese (honestly, we do English no justice-it's a language all it's own now), and bad Spanish. So I did what all the great, un-learned writers do in these situations: Google Translate! 8D so please, tell me if I messed up horribly, or completely butchered any other beautiful language.**

**Thank you for your time and patience!**

**(Oh, and sorry, I'm very new to submitting chapters, so I accidentally submitted this before editing-so if any of you got a pm indicating the new chapter, and it wasn't there, please don't hate me! I had to delete it so I could edit it and submit it again.)  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Matthew's POV:<strong>

Another week flew by, and I was the happiest I'd ever been in my life. I continued my studying, discussing newly-learned and interesting things with Francis whenever he asked what I'd read that day.

It was a typical day for us, Francis working in his office-I had asked once what it was exactly that he did for a living, he just smiled and said that I could find out when he was done with his current project-and I was reading in my favorite place: the beautiful, book-filled library. I sat in my usual chair, completely absorbed into my musty-smelling volume.

All of a sudden, a soft rapping at the door broke my reverie. Francis poked his head in, smiling softly.

"Bonjour, Matthieu, how are you today?"

"Good morning Francis; I am well, you?"

"I'm great! Listen, I'm having some company today-they should be here, maybe, within the hour. There's two of them-really good friends of mine. The first is a happy-go-lucky Spaniard, and the other is an egotistical albino. I will be in my office, so if you hear them at the door, please lead them to me."

"Alright, I'll move to the parlor so I can hear the door better."

"Thank you, enjoy your book." He waved cheerily before heading back to his work. I picked up my book and sat down in the parlor, thinking about Francis' friends.

"Oh," I thought aloud, "he forgot to tell me their names..." I made my way to his study and knocked. "Francis?"

"Are they here already?" His surprise evident in his voice.

"No, but you forgot to tell me their names."

"Oh, my apologies, the Spaniard is Antonio and the albino is Gilbert."

"OK, thank you." I proceeded back to my book, and had just gotten comfortable, when the expected knock at the door resounded down the hall. I sighed softly to myself, slightly irritated. I opened the front door to see a grinning Spanish man being held in a painful-looking headlock by a smirking man who had the whitest skin and hair I'd ever seen. His eyes were red like crystalized blood.

"Ow, ow! OK, you win!"

"Kesesese...of course I do, I'm too awesome to ever lose!" Gilbert released Antonio, the victorious smirk still plastered on his face. I was too shocked to say anything-I still hadn't had much of any other human contact, so I wasn't expecting people like this...I really didn't know _what_ I was expecting.

Finally finding my voice, I cleared my throat softly, "Excuse me, but might you be Antonio and Gilbert?"

Both heads turned to me at once, as if just realizing that I was there. "Oh, sorry, yeah. I'm Antonio," duh. He pointed to Gilbert, who's mouth was hanging open and eyes were wide, "and this is Gilbert."

I nodded to both of them, "I'm Matthieu-did Francis tell you about me?"

"A little-he told us that he found you in the forest and ended up adopting you. That's why we're here: we wanted to meet you!" He smiled warmly, taking my hand to shake it.

A small blush crept across my face as I smiled in return. "It's very nice to meet you too, please come in. Francis is in his study." I led them to where Francis waited. "Francis, they're here," I called through the closed wood.

"Ah, bien!" He opened the doors and the three engulfed each other in a tight embrace. "It has been so long, mes amis. Please have a seat! I have saved a very special bottle of wine for this." They needed no second bidding; laughing good-humoredly, they sat on his plush sofa.

I smiled softly at them, "If you'll excuse me, then I shall be getting back to my book. It was very nice meeting you two." I closed the doors and resumed my reading back in the library.

**Gilbert's POV:**

I couldn't take my eyes off of him since I first saw him; he was the cutest thing I'd ever seen-even cuter than my awesome pet chick, Gilbird. His eyes were the most beautiful blue-violet, they seemed so deep and unfathomable.

My mouth refused to say anything-let alone close; I felt like such and idiot. Next thing I knew, I was sitting down in Francis' office and Matthew was leaving! I still hadn't said anything! That was so un-awesome of me. Me, the Great Prussian, was brought to speechlessness by a twelve-year-old boy! Not cool.

"Gilbert...Earth to Gilbert...Hey!" I snapped back to reality and my eyes focused on a smiling Antonio right in front of my face. "Amigo, are you alright? You haven't said a word since we were on the porch; you've just been staring into space with a vacant look in your eyes."

Francis was doubled over, trying not to laugh, "I believe our little Gilly has been smitten by innocent little Matthieu."

My face heated up in an indignant flush, "I have not! I just wasn't expecting him to be so...adorable..." I trailed off, looking away in embarrassment. That only caused the both of them to burst out laughing-heads thrown back and everything.

Antonio wiped tears of mirth from his eyes, grinning like the idiot he was (and still is). "And you call me a pedophile! At least Lovi is an actual teenager! Matthew probably hasn't even hit puberty yet!" A strange expression flickered across Francis' face for a brief second before it was gone.

Francis got out the wine he mentioned and poured three glasses, handing two to us. He took an appreciative sip before leaning back in his chair. "Do you remember what I told you over the phone...about how I found Matthieu?" Antonio and I look at him, nodding yes. He took another sip before continuing. "Good, that way I won't have to explain myself again; but there is one thing I wanted to explain in person. Matthieu told the police that he has no memories of anything from before I found him except his age..."

I stared at Francis, slightly confused, "You told us that already."

He just continued as if I hadn't interrupted, "but that was a lie-he remembers everything." Antonio's eyes matched mine in width. "He does not trust people easily, so he felt that it was better for him to lie about his past; somehow, he found me to be trustworthy and has told me of where he came from."

Antonio looked questioningly to Francis, "Should you be telling us this if he has only entrusted you with the truth?"

"I am revealing no more than that, and I only told you so I could ask you to not pressure the poor boy about trying to remember anything. His story is not a happy one, and he is trying very hard to forget."

My heart constricted at all of the possible atrocities that could have befallen such a sweet-looking boy. "He...he wasn't raped or anything was he?"

Francis held up his hands, "It's not my place to say. Maybe if he comes to know and trust you enough, he'll tell you. But until then, please refrain from mentioning anything about it. I want you both to promise me."

"I promise." I nodded in agreement with Antonio.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it." Francis smiled as he finished off his wine. Realizing we hadn't been drinking ours, Antonio and I down our glasses.

"That is good wine!" Our vineyard-loving Spaniard took the bottle to look at the label. I've always preferred beer, but I had to admit, it wasn't bad.

"So what are you going to do about schooling for Matthew?" I asked, grinning as I was poured a refill.

"Well, since it's summer now, I figured I'd enroll him at the local school starting this fall. If it weren't for the youthful need of some kind of social contact outside of family, I probably wouldn't need to bother with it. I already know he's going to outshine his own age-group. It wouldn't surprise me if they move him up a few grades."

"How can you be so sure?" Antonio asked while responding to a text that I assumed was from Lovino-based on his giddy expression.

Francis smiled at his doubt. "Not to boast, but I can because most twelve-year-olds don't spend almost every hour of every day reading an entire library filled with nothing but medical books, encyclopedias, history volumes, and all manners of educational findings. In just a span of a few weeks, he has read over half of my library." He paused to revel in our shock and took another drop of wine. "And I know that he's actually learning, not just skimming or reading then forgetting, because we've discussed, in great detail, many of the books he's read."

"Is that what he's doing now?" I asked, getting to my feet.

"Yes, he's probably in his favorite chair in the library-where are you going, Gilbert?"

"I'm curious to see if he's as intelligent as you say." I waved as I walked off, closing the doors behind me and ignoring the glance and smile shared between the two. I quietly arrived at my destination. Opening the door just a crack, I peeked in to see Matthew sitting on a comfortable-looking chair reading one of the thickest books I'd ever seen. That thing looked like it must've weighed a ton, yet it seemed light as a feather with the way he wasn't even bothered by it.

He looked so angelic the way the lamp light made his honeyed hair glow, his eyes downcast, lips moving silently as he read to himself.

"Are you just going to stand there, or are you coming in?" I jumped and my face turned a noticeable red.

"How did you know I was there?" I asked, sitting down next to him; he hadn't even looked up from the hardback.

"I could hear you," he smiled, signaling that he didn't mind.

I tilted my head toward his book, "So, what're you reading?" That got him to glance up-if only for a moment before looking back down.

I noticed an adorable rose hue grace his face as he muttered his reply. "Won't Francis and Antonio be missing you?"

"Well, we did say that we came to meet you; I wanted to get to know you a little. But, if you'd rather be alone, I could-"

"No! Sorry," he interrupted me, grabbing my arm as I made to get up. "I didn't mean to sound annoyed with you-I'm just not used to people other than Francis take much of an interest in me." I grinned at him, sitting back down. He smiled in return and I felt like I had been stabbed in the chest; how could anyone possibly be as cute as that?

"So...what did you say that book was called?"

"Oh, sorry!" He flipped to the front cover so I could see the title _'History of the World_._'_

"You like history? What chapter are you on?"

His smile grew brighter-a feat that I didn't think possible. "Yes, I love it, it's so fascinating! I also love reading about the different religions-it's interesting to learn the different views on how the Earth was created. Right now I'm reading a chapter on the full history of the country Prussia."

I beamed at that. "The best country there ever was! I'm Prussian, you know."

A confused expression destroyed that smile that I could never get enough of. "But, I thought Prussia wasn't a country any more-how could you...? Unless it's from your lineage?"

"Well, technically I'm German, but I was born in East Germany. I fell in love with Prussia's history when I was small and declared myself a Prussian. Awesome right?"

The confusion left as his laughter ringed like that of a little bell, filling the room with the purest of all music. "I suppose that makes sense..." He trailed off looking thoughtfully into space. A tint of sadness glazed his eyes, and immediately my heart ached for me to hug him-to cradle him in my arms, protecting him from whatever traumas he was remembering, to comfort him and make his incredible laugh drown out his sorrows. "I wish I had a nationality..." his whisper was so soft, I could barely tell if I had heard anything at all.

"Then why don't you choose one?"

"I can't just say I'm from some random country-for one thing, what if I don't match their race?"

"It wouldn't be random; choose the country you find yourself most infatuated with-like how I declared myself from a now-non-existent nation. And if your race doesn't match up with that country, then just say your parents were probably from somewhere else."

"_Probably_ from somewhere else? It'd be a little odd that I don't know where my own parents were from-I'm sure the other students at school would be rather confused by that."

"Well, you don't remember your past, right? So, depending on how much you want to reveal-like telling them that Francis found you and you have amnesia, or that Francis adopted you and you never met your real parents, or whatever-something like that would be easily bought. You know what I'm trying to say?"

"I think so...I really don't want people to know that I don't remember anything, that would just get them prying-something I definitely don't want. If I told them that Francis adopted me from some other country, I could say that I never knew my real parents-that I was abandoned as a baby. Is that what you were getting at?"

I smiled, happy that my crappy explanations were understood, "Yes, exactly. So, what's your favorite country?"

He thought quietly for a moment, index finger and thumb gripping his chin gently. "Hm...that's a hard one, there are so many countries I have read about, so many I still have yet to read about...I think I should brush up some more on the world's history and such before I make my decision."

"Sounds reasonable to me." Matthew and I continued talking well into the late hours of the night, I told him different cultural facts about Prussia and Germany that his book didn't mention, and he told me historical facts that I'd never heard of.

It was one o'clock when I finally checked the time. I stood up, stretching wide. "Wow, it's really late. How about we go check in on Francis and Antonio?" I blushed as a loud gurgle emanated from my stomach. "And I suppose the fridge could use a good inspection as well..." Matthew covered his mouth to fight back his giggles.

"I agree."

We opened the twin doors to Francis' office to see him and Antonio sprawled out over the furniture, passed out from drinking probably. I turned to Matthew, smiling, "Well, my ride home's out for the count; looks like I'm staying the night. Do you know where the spare blankets are kept? Don't want these two catching a cold."

The blonde nodded silently, leading me to one of the spare bedrooms. "If you want, you can sleep in here tonight. There are some blankets in this dresser." He pulled open one of the drawers and handed a big quilt over to me, taking out an equally big comforter for himself to carry.

I draped the quilt over Antonio, picking up the wine bottle he had dropped in his drunken stupor. Matthew picked up the three wine glasses after covering Francis with the other coverlet. We made our way to the kitchen, and as Matthew rinsed out the crystal ware, I roamed the fridge for something to eat.

"I don't want anything too complicated, being as late as it is..."

"They're not as good re-heated, though not bad cold, but we've got left-over crepes that Francis made this morning. Frankly, I prefer them more pancake-y than crepe-y, I like the thickness."

"Crepes sound good," I responded, pulling them out and setting them on the counter. "Let's see...where's your jam? I can't find any."

"We might be out, let me look." I stepped aside as he searched for a jar. "Yeah...we are definitely out of jam, sorry. We've got maple syrup, would that do?"

"I suppose...it's not the same though." I crossed my arms, pouting a little. He just giggled another apology, turning my face a light pink. We sat down at the kitchen table, enjoying our crepes and syrup-it wasn't bad, I'd never had syrup with them before, I'd always had some kind of jam. Once I tried that American Nutella stuff-that shit was awesome!

We finished eating and I helped Matthew wash the dishes. When that was done, he turned to me, "Would you like to use the shower? I'll just wait until to take one until tomorrow morning."

"Alright, I'll borrow some pajamas from Francis...I hope I can find something that fits, I'm somewhat bigger than him," I mused to myself as I softly padded to his room. I cringed slightly at the thought of going through his dresser-truly a terrifying idea (one never knows what one may find in the confines of that Frenchman's room).

Thankfully I found his pajama drawer almost immediately. I pulled out a pair of fleece sleep pants that looked like they'd fit. They'd've had to do, even though I wasn't a huge fan of the color purple. I turned to find Matthew standing in the doorway, already changed into his red-and-white-trimmed pajamas. He looked so adorable hugging a stuffed polar bear to his chest, tears forming in the corners of his eyes as he yawned. He held out a fluffy green towel to me.

I took the towel and he shuffled off, mumbling his goodnight. So cute! He looked really tired-he must've not stayed up late very often before now.

I showered quickly and lay back on the guest bed, thinking about the day. I fell asleep that night with a peaceful smile on my lips.

**Matthew's POV:**

I leaned against my door after shutting it, listening to Gilbert turn on the shower. I smiled down at Kuma, "I had a lot of fun today, Kuma. I made a new friend! Gilbert is really funny, and nice, and smart! He taught me some thing about the ex-country Prussia that weren't in my book! He also gave me the idea to give myself a nationality-I can't wait until I find a country I really like!" A happy flush colored my cheeks as I snuggled my face into the bear's soft white fur. I fell asleep that night with a joyful smile on my lips.

~O0O~

**Gilbert's POV:**

I woke up the next morning to a mouthwatering smell drifting through the house. Running my hand through my bedhead, I got up with a stretch and a yawn. As I made my way to the kitchen, I heard singing. I couldn't understand the words as they were in some other language (sounding something like a mix of Arabic and Hebrew), but the melody was slow and beautiful-it was the saddest thing I'd ever heard.

I peered around the corner to see Matthew standing over the stove cooking something delicious. As I looked closer, I could see a sorrow in his eyes so immense that I thought I'd drown. Salty drops slid down his pale cheeks un-checked, as if he didn't realize they were being shed. I was close to tears myself-seeing him like that and listening to his heart pour out into the song-as he turned to stare deeply into my eyes. The final notes of the ballad drifted off into nothing as he wept openly.

Suddenly, he wiped his face and smiled, hiding his pain away behind a mask. "I made pancakes," he said simply. I couldn't say anything for fear of breaking down myself.

The hungover groans of Francis and Antonio snapped me back to normal as they plopped down into two of the unoccupied chairs.

"Ow...my head hurts..." Francis complained to no one in particular as Matthew set the food on the table. I stood to help him set up the plates and silverware as he got out the cups and juice.

He smiled and told us to help ourselves as he went to the bathroom to fetch some Aspirin or something to shut the other two up.

I took one bite of the thick, fluffy, American-styled flapjacks, and I was in heaven! The sweet aroma of the syrup flooded my every sense, the oozing warmth of something so..._perfect_ that words could hardly describe left me breathless. I cleared my mouth out with a swig of juice before I spake my amazement.

"Oh mein gott, these...are incredible! They're..." I couldn't even finish my sentence. The others nodded in ecstatic agreement. When Matthew returned, he blushed deeply at our orgasmic compliments. They were just that good-I swear, I almost got a hard-on! Almost.

Francis and Antonio took the hangover medicine appreciatively. We finished breakfast and Antonio announced that he had to get going-he had to get back to that irate Italian of his who was probably pissed that he had stayed out all night. I sighed, knowing that I had to leave too so I could get ready for work.

"Let me go put my clothes on-Francis, I'll wash these before I give them back to you." I stood up, indicating the purple atrocities that were really digging into my gut. I guess I never realized just how small that Frenchman was compared to me. He nodded his OK and I left to get dressed.

I was just taking the pants off when I heard a knock on my door. I quickly pulled them back up as Matthew entered the spare room.

"M-Matthew! What're you doing? I'm changing!" My face was beat red as he sat down on the bed.

"I know, sorry, but I wanted to talk to you and I figured this would be my best opportunity to do it in private. I can close my eyes or turn around if you feel awkward."

I didn't know what to do, he just sat there-honest intentions in his unwavering eyes-staring expectantly at me; he actually wasn't blushing! This thing that he needed to talk to me about must've been important...'maybe he's planning on telling me his true past!' That thought popped in my head, and it took all of my self-control not to let my eagerness show.

Finally, after thinking it through a little, I nodded, "Alright, if it's really that important. You can close your eyes if you want-I don't have anything to be shy about."

As I proceeded to take the pants off, he closed his eyes-probably out of respect for my privacy, judging by the fact that his expression was still neutral.

"So what was it you wanted to talk about?"

"I..."he trailed off, trying to think of how to word it, no doubt. He took a deep breath before continuing, "I don't want you to tell anyone about what you witnessed this morning-before Francis and Antonio came in. Especially do not tell Francis, I already burden him enough, I don't want to trouble him any more with my problems."

"What? Francis doesn't see you as a burden! He adopted you because he really cares about you."

"I know, but I don't want to worry him any more than I already do." He hung his head, his bangs covering his face. "Besides that, that song...was incredibly personal..."My eyes widened as I realized the actual reason he didn't want anyone to know; he literally poured out his every feeling with that song. It was like I had accidentally read his journal or something.

"I understand, I won't tell." I smiled warmly, even though he couldn't see it. "Though I have to say...that was singly the most beautiful thing I have ever heard." His head snapped up, a furious blush spreading like a wildfire, eyes widened as he forgot that I was practically naked (I had gotten my boxers on, but had somehow misplaced my pants). I grinned, showing that I was OK with him seeing me and that I was completely sincere about living his song. I kept talking as I continued the search for my jeans.

"I could feel every emotion you put into it, I was on the verge of tears myself."

"R-really? I mean...I noticed your eyes were starting to get a bit puffy, but it was hard to see your face through the blurriness."

"You probably would've cried harder, had you seen my expression," I laughed lightly, "I'll tell you one thing's for sure-no one else has ever made me feel like that before; you should feel privileged."

"Privileged that I made you temporarily depressed?" He rolled his eyes, smiling, "Oh yeah, that's a real achievement!" We both just burst out laughing.

"Aha! Here they are!" I shouted in triumph as I finally located my trousers.

Matthew laughed harder, "That's what you were doing on the floor? You could've just asked-I knew they were there since I sat down!" I blushed as I face-palmed.

"I didn't think of it..." I mumbled, chuckling at my momentary stupidity.

"Erm...this is kind of awkward, but...you are incredibly white." He blushed as I looked up in surprise.

"That's usually the case when you're albino." I just laughed, taking no offense.

"Sorry-I just meant that I'd never seen an albino before I met you; not even pictures. I've looked up what it means to be albino, but was distracted by something else and forgot to continue my research. I guess I just wasn't expecting...well...you know what I mean..."

He looked away and I just shrugged it off. "Yeah, I know. Don't worry about it," I placed my hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "I don't mind."

**Matthew's POV:**

I couldn't believe I actually said that! And he just laughed it off like it was nothing! My blush deepened as he placed his hand on my shoulder; I wished he would've finished getting dressed. He stood right in front of me with his pants on, but they weren't fastened so the flaps were opened slightly, exposing his black boxers. His black studded belt ends were hanging limply, supported only by the belt loops. The band of his shorts reached just under his navel-showing off the tip of his trail-adding a trim above his jeans.

His crimson eyes stared at me with unintentional intensity-his toothy grin sparkled purer than that of his snow white skin and hair. And his hair...damnit...it still had yet to meet a comb that morning, so it's disheveled appearance made me feel like the burning in my face would never dissipate.

We stayed like that only for a moment, but it felt like hours. Both of us jumped as Antonio's impatient shout echoed down the hall. Gilbert extracted his hand so he could throw the rest of his clothes on.

I followed him to the front door, Antonio starting up the car as Francis leaned against the driver's door. Gilbert turned to me.

"I'll be sure to visit often, is that OK?"

I smiled at him. "Yeah, of course. So long as Francis doesn't mind-it's his house after all."

"Don't worry," he laughed, "he won't care." With that and a wave, he climbed into the passenger side of the vehicle, saying something to Francis before they took off. Francis and I waved and went back inside.

"So what did you think of them? I noticed you started to bond a little with Gilbert?" He smiled at me expectantly.

"I really enjoyed myself," I responded, grinning. "I hope Gilbert and I can become really good friends."

"I hope so, too; you both really seemed to get along."

"Mhm, we have quite a bit in common. Oh, that reminds me! He gave me a great idea-since I don't have a nationality, he convinced me to just choose my favorite country and declare myself from there!"

"Sounds like a wonderful idea, Matthieu! You'd better hurry and decide where you want your origin to be-I may need it for school registration." I nodded and made my way to the library.

~O0O~

It was just a week before school started; Gilbert visited at least once every week-on occasion, he stayed the night. I did a lot of research and I finally decided on my new nationality two weeks after the first time I met Gil: I'd chosen Canada.

After looking at a few landscape pictures, I discovered that it somewhat resembled my old home; but that wasn't the only reason why I chose to become Canadian! That only led me to read more into its history and culture. Ironically enough, Canada had once been under France's control; I found that hilarious because a Frenchman adopted a potential-Canadian! Francis and I had a good laugh at that.

As I delved further and further into the Canadian way of life, I found myself becoming very much enraptured. When I discovered Canadian maple syrup, that sold me immediately. I announced that I was officially Canadian from just one bite of pancakes drizzling that heavenly confection.

Francis and Gilbert helped discover, much to their surprise and immense amusement, that I was completely infatuated with the most popular Canadian sport: hockey. I was drawn to it right away because it, too, reminded me of my previous life. In my ex-realm, there is a "sport" that many male adults partake in to prove their masculinity. It's kind of a "coming-of-age"-type event.

The rules and equipment of the "game" are different, but the overall goal and violence are very much the same. Whenever I'd watch either one, my inner instincts came out...very...viciously...basically, I got _really _into it.

I was hoping that my new school had a hockey team-I wanted nothing more from that place than to join...well, that and learn.

~O0O~

Finally! The first day of school! I was so nervous, but excited at the same time. Francis had asked Gilbert's younger brother to keep an eye on me and help me out with whatever. I was fine with that (so long as he was, too), because, honestly, I had no idea how to act around people my own age. I mean, sure, I had read tons of books about social behavior, but it's not the same as actually putting it into practice.

Francis dropped me off at the front doors. "Have fun, and good luck!" he called, driving off. I gulped nervously as streams of rather depressed-looking students filed past me and into the place I'd heard many refer to as "hell." While I didn't believe in _hell_, it was still enough to terrify me.

"Hey!" I jumped and turned to the person shouting. A tall, beefy blonde strode up to me, his sky blue eyes twinkling. "Are you Matthew?" he asked in a slight Germanic accent.

"Y-yes...are you Gilbert's brother?" I looked up meekly to meet his eyes; damn that guy was tall!

"Ja. I'm Ludwig Beilschmidt. I am the High School Student Body Vice President, so if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Would you like me to show you around the school?"

"Yes please, if you're not busy that is..." I blushed at my shyness. He just smiled at me and was about to lead me through the doors, when all of a sudden, he had grown a second pair of arms.

"Veh~Luddy! I haven't seen you in forever! What're you doing at the middle school?" We both turned around to see a rather short (in comparison to the hulking German) teen grinning at nothing in particular-I could tell right away that he was an air-head. He had mahogany-colored hair and a random curl sticking out (very similar to mine only his was to the side). I couldn't tell what color his eyes were due to the fact that they were half-closed.

"First of all, Feliciano, you know I don't like being called..." I understood why he couldn't finish that sentence, those puppy eyes were just irresistible. It was thanks to them, though,that I discovered that his eyes were like amber-shining brightly. "Fine..." the poor German sighed, "just don't overdo it..." Feliciano squealed with joy and wrapped Ludwig in another awkward embrace.

"Second, " he continued unfazed, peeling the other off of him, "I saw you just yesterday-you were at my house all weekend!"

"I know, but still...it's no fun ever being without you..." Ludwig's face heated up in embarrassment, I could kind of assume that it was hard for him to be open about his feelings. Can't say I blamed him.

"And thirdly, I'm at the middle school because Gilbert's friend, Francis, asked me to help out his new son."

"Francis had a son? I didn't even know he was seeing anyone! Wait...how would he be old enough for school yet? Shouldn't he be a baby? Oh, but what if it's one of those situations where a past girlfriend suddenly showed up, dumping the poor kid on his doorstep and leaving without another glance back?" Wow, did this guy ever breath?

The more he kept going on about the different possible situations I could've been in, the more depressing, and detailed, they became. Was he crying? Crap! He was!

I quickly interceded before he started bawling completely, "N-no, please don't cry! None of that is even close! Francis just adopted me a month or so ago!"

His tears dried up almost immediately. "Really? So then, what about your real parents?" His head tilted to the side curiously.

"F-Feli! You can't just ask something so personal of someone you just met!"

"It's OK, Ludwig, I don't mind." I smiled, hiding the fact that that question alone hurt me more than they would ever realize. "I never met my real parents. I was a doorstep baby."

His tears came back tenfold as the overly-sensitive teenager hugged me tightly.

"It's alright-it doesn't bother me any more. Especially now that I have Francis." I smiled at him reassuringly. "Um, Ludwig? Could you still show me around the school before class starts? I don't even know where the office is."

"Oh, right! Feli, please let go. We need to get him settled."

"Sorry!" He released me, but grabbed my hand as we made to leave. "Wait, first, what's your name? I'm Feliciano Vargas, but you can call me Feli."

Shaking his hand, I grinned. "Matthieu...Matthieu Bonnefoy."

Feli grinned back as he waved and ran to an irate-looking boy whom I assumed to be like his twin or something. He started shouting in what I thought might've been Italian.

Ludwig grimaced-I could tell they didn't get along. "That's Lovino, Feli's older brudder."

"Wait, did you say Lovino? I think I heard Gilbert mention that name before."

"Probably, he is dating one of East's best friends-Antonio, have you met him?"

I nodded, then looked at him confused, "East?"

"My nickname for Gilbert; he was born in East Germany, so I call him 'East,' and I was born in West Germany, so he calls me 'West'."

"Ah, I see." He showed me around the school, took me to the office to find out my homeroom, introduced me to my homeroom teacher, and told me where I could find my locker and other classes on the schedule I'd been given. Then he had to leave so he himself could get to class.

It was about five minutes after the first period bell had rung before I finally found my class. I knocked lightly and tentatively walked inside. The teacher smiled at me, her large breasts bounding as she turned.

"Привіт, you must be the new student." I nodded and she introduced me to everyone. "Students, this is Matthew Bonnefoy-did I pronounce that correctly?" I nodded again, smiling a little. She beamed and continued, "He's new to town, so please make him feel welcome." She directed me to my seat, and as I passed the other kids, I could tell they weren't paying any attention.

I sighed, oh well. I didn't really care for being the center of attention anyway. I turned around when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Another blonde boy was sitting behind me, wearing what looked like a sailor's outfit.

"Hi, I'm Peter," he whispered.

"Matthieu," I responded softly.

"You know, you look almost exactly like my older brother's boyfriend!"

I really didn't want to disturb the class or be rude to the teacher-especially since history was my favorite subject. "Sorry, but we should really be paying attention." I turned back to face the front, trying to ignore the sad, bored look that I felt boring into the back of my skull.

After the bell rang, Peter stopped me from leaving. "Hey, sorry about distracting you earlier."

I smiled, "No, it's alright, I just really like history and I felt bad for Ms. Braginskaya. I get a feeling that no one ever pays much attention to her, except to ogle her."

"I think you're right...hey, what's your next class?" I looked at my schedule.

"Um...next I have...French? Why would I have French?"

Peter shrugged, "Everyone's required to take at least one provided foreign language."

"But, I already speak fluent French."

"I think you can get it changed at the office."

"Alright, thanks. What other classes do you have?" We held our papers together, comparing them. We had history, third period math, fifth period P.E., sixth period English, and eighth period science together.

I smiled as we parted ways-I was happy to have made a friend who virtually had the same schedule as me. The only classes I didn't have with him were second period (whatever that was going to get changed to), fourth period homeroom, and seventh period art. I was happy that I had gotten an art class, I was rather interested in the subject and curious to see if I was any good. I entered the office for the second time that day and asked the secretary if I could change my French class.

"Do you have a legitimate reason?"

"I already speak French, I was hoping I could learn a different language."

"Let me see what we have available..." She sounded like she was having a fun day; I felt that if I moved an inch, save to leave, she would snap my head off. "The only opening we have is German."

I smiled, Gil would be so thrilled if I learned how to speak German! "That sounds great!" I wanted to learn it the human way, not just scanning it into my head like I had to do with French and English.

I was still smiling as I walked through the door to my newly-added subject. The teacher beamed cheerily at me and introduced herself as Mrs. Edelstein.

The rest of the day passed without a hitch; at lunch, Peter introduced me to his friends Tÿr-a pale, rather expressionless boy from Iceland-and Raivis-a joyful blonde from Latvia. I learned that my art teacher was the grandfather of Feliciano and Lovino, and beamed when I mentioned after class that I had made the acquaintance of Feli.

Pretty soon, I was outside waiting on Francis to come pick me up. His car pulled up and I climbed in, telling him about my day.

"Gilbert's going to be ecstatic when he hears that you're learning to speak German. Like that's all that egomaniac needs." He chuckled lightly.

"I want to surprise him by greeting him in his native tongue next time he comes over."

"Oh, he'll love that. Tell me about the friends you made." I talked the rest of the way home, laughing as I recalled certain events of the day.

"Oh, that's right! I found out that the middle school doesn't have a hockey team-they feel it's too violent for ones so young. But the high school does! However, you can only join after you've completed your first year."

"That's unfortunate, but at least there is a team. You can go to some of their matches, and maybe they'll let you practice using their rink and equipment?"

"I don't think they'd let a kid like me use their stuff. It's a nice thought, though. Is there a local rink in town?"

"I believe there might be." We arrived at the house, standing out very obviously and out of place amongst all the trees. I liked that we lived out there, it was nice and quiet

I went to the library to do my homework (on the first day, I know) and read. I'd have to start bringing my own books to school to read-everything they had at their media center kind of sucked, and most of my classes were easy, so I'd have had a lot of free time doing nothing when it could've been spent expanding my knowledge.

"This is going to be a good year," I thought aloud.

* * *

><p><strong>So, that was the first chapter! Please review to let me know what you think: any comments, grammatical errors, tense errors that you think need to be checked, spelling, whatever. I love hearing what people think of my writing (I think I said pretty much the same thing last time 8P ) Oh, and in case you couldn't tell, Gilbert's rather...out of character...I made him intelligent. Honestly, it's really hard to accurately mimic the thoughts of an idiot-dialogue, no problem, but actually getting into their head, that's a whole other plane. Besides...my inner voice is typically rather fancy, so I think I write like that naturally...I don't know...and sorry if he doesn't give the aura of being "overly-awesome," I am still an amateur.<strong>

**This chapter was rather long...I honestly don't know if every chapter will be that way, but I know I prefer longer chapters (more to read and enjoy, right), so I will try my best! If you're wondering, this file in open office is 10 pages! WOOT! I haven't written a 10-pager in a while!**

**PS: just in case you were wondering, the language of the song Matthew was singing was the language of his people.**

**Any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! Ciao~**


	3. Chapter 2

**I am so sorry that it took me so long to upload this chapter-I keep finding it hard to find inspiration towards what I want to write, and also finding time to write. **

**I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed so far; one such person has pointed out that I have neglected to inform you as to the location of our beloved characters. While I have not decided on any specific place, let us suffice it to say that they live somewhere in America-the cultural trail mix of the world. If anyone else has any other criticisms, comments, or questions, please, I beg you, ask.  
><strong>

**I realize that there are quite a few holes in my story, so I apologize for my mediocre writing. One such hole being the languages spoken. At the very beginning, Francis was panicking because he found an unconscious boy in the middle of the woods, so without realizing it, he spoke in French (sorry for those who were confused by the location). Matthew used his translator to learn French, and though it is not mentioned, he also used it to learn English. That is why, in the first chapter, he said that he wanted to learn German the "old-fashioned" way.  
><strong>

**I also apologize if the people seem OOC, I am very inexperienced and new when it comes to writing fanfic, so I am not yet adapt at writing already set personalities )or expressing those personalities). But I am trying-if anyone has any suggestions toward their mannerisms that they think I should take into consideration, please let me know.  
><strong>

**In this chapter Matthew and Gilbert briefly converse in German. Since I do not speak German, nor trust Google Translate enough to not completely butcher the language, I just put it in italics. So, just a fore-warning that that is what is going on at that time.  
><strong>

**Now, without further ado, the second chapter of Banished. Enjoy~  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Matthew's POV:<br>**

School was nothing like how I expected it...I was bored. Horrendously bored. I wasn't learning anything that I didn't already know; I realized quickly that, apparently even with friends, I was the easily-ignored type-hardly anyone ever noticed my being there. It was the orphanage all over again.

Peter was really the only one I ever talked to-even at lunch when we sat with his friends. I felt completely invisible. At least history class was still fun, even though I'd learned everything a while ago; Ms. Braginskaya was easily my favorite teacher. Many times I'd find myself going to her classroom after school to discuss random things, including her country, Ukraine-I was curious to learn about it from an actual native.

One such time, I was talking with her about the Ottoman Empire-rise and fall and all that-and Francis was running a bit late.

"I wonder what could be keeping him?"  
>"Maybe he's having car troubles?" I shrugged at her suggestion.<p>

"I don't know...I just hope it's nothing bad."

"Would you like to borrow my phone? Does he carry a cell?"

"Yes, he does, and I would really appreciate it...this is the latest he's ever been, it usually only takes him around thirty minutes to an hour to get here."

"That long? Does he work far away or something?"

"No," I responded, dialing his cell phone number, "he works at home."

"Then where does he go during the day that it'd take him that long to come and get you? The town isn't that big..."

"We live really deep in the forest, so it's quite a drive-approximately twenty minutes from town, thirty from school. But sometimes he forgets and it takes about an hour."

A worried expression flashed in her eyes, "Forgets you?"

I shrugged again, "I guess he still isn't used to having to care for a child."

"Hmm..." I could tell that she wasn't too enthralled with the idea of a father forgetting about his son like that, adopted or non.

"Don't worry about it," I smiled, "I don't mind; I'm just grateful that he took me out of the horrid orphanage."

"Is he picking up?" She asked, changing the subject.

"It's still ringing-wait, hello? Francis? This is Matthieu-I'm using Ms. Braginskaya's phone...I was just wondering if you were on your way...Oh, OK...yeah, I understand. I remember the way, though it's going to take a while...yeah, alright...OK, I'll see you when I get home." I hung up the phone, an obvious look of relief on my face.

"So I take it that nothing serious has happened?"

I nodded, "Yeah, he's just having some issues trying to figure out where he left the keys." I chuckled at both the situation and my needless worry. "I'll have to help him look for them when I get there."

"Seriously? How could anyone take this long to look for their keys and still not find them?"

"It's a really big house," I replied, and she just shook her head.

"So how will you be getting home?"

"I'm going to walk; I'd better head out now, though; if it takes half an hour driving, then it's going to be dark by the time I get there by foot."

"Wait," she called as I made to leave. "I don't want you walking such a distance this late...alone...it's not safe. Why don't I give you a ride?"

I blushed a little, holding up my hands, "I-I don't want to trouble you-it's probably very much out of the way from your house. I don't mind walking, really."

She looked at me sternly, "No, it's quite alright. I'm not letting you out there alone; it's a lot more different than by car. Now come on," she grabbed her jacket and purse and pulled the protesting me out of the school with her; she was stronger than she looked!

I sighed in defeat as we neared her car. "How do you get to your house?" She asked as we climbed in.

"I'm not sure about street names, but I can direct you as we go." She nodded and we pulled out of the parking lot. I guided her through all of the turns and shortcuts that Francis and I had found when he took me to explore the town. Finally we came upon the road that would take us right into the forest. "Just take a left here and it's pretty much a straight drive."

"Alright." She smiled and glanced over at me, "so how do you like your home life? Are you happy? Content?" I could tell she was still concerned about the whole 'forgetting me' issue.

"Yeah, I'm happy-happier than I've ever been before, that's for sure. I really like Francis' house, there's a lot of places I still have yet to explore, but I don't do that very often because I'm usually in the library reading."

"Oh really? I've noticed you carrying a new book around school every day, but I never get the chance to look closely at them. What kind of books do you like to read?"

I smiled, warming up to the topic. "Well, anything historical is my favorite genre, especially '_History of the World_,' it's very informative about the rises, falls, and all around histories of the different countries.

"I also enjoyed a book I read on the human anatomy-I find it very interesting the way the brain works. There was a book on the different laws of science that intrigued me, but not as much as the volumes I read describing, most, if not all, of the religions in the world."

"Wow...honestly, that was last answer I was expecting." Her eyes had widened with amazement, "Have you seriously been studying all of that along with your schoolwork?"

"Sometimes instead of my work; I don't bother studying for anything for school because it's not hard to remember and it's all basically review for me. That's why I take my books to school-so that I can learn something new."

I hardly had time to register the shock on her face as we had just pulled up to the house. "Wow, it really is a big house..." Her expression intensified.

"Yeah, but it's still cozy. Would you like to come in for some tea or coffee as a thanks for the ride?"

"Well, I shouldn't stay too long, I've got siblings I look after, but I don't see any harm in a quick cup."

We both smiled, and as we were making our way up to the door, I suddenly found myself encompassed in a frantic Frenchman's arms.

"Matthieu! I am so sorry I could not pick you up!"

I carefully pried myself from my fussing guardian, "It's alright, I understand. Ms. Braginskaya was kind enough to give me a ride home, I was just inviting her in for a beverage."

Francis turned to the teacher and took her offered hand, bringing it up to his lips in a gentlemanly kiss. "Merci Mademoiselle Braginskaya, please, do come in. Matthieu has told me much about you and how he enjoys your class."

She smiled and followed us into the parlor. "He is a bright and enthusiastic student. We have many interesting discussions about random historical events."

I blushed a little at her praise, "What would you like to drink? Tea, coffee...?"

"I don't want to trouble you; water will be fine, thank you."

"Nonsense!" Francis exclaimed, "Perhaps you would like some wine instead? I assure you, it is no trouble."

"I don't think wine is a wise idea, I still have to drive home. I am fine with water. Thank you for the offer though." I left momentarily to fetch a couple glasses of water and a bottle of wine for Francis-though neither she nor I would be drinking any, that wouldn't stop him from doing so. It was his favorite beverage, after all.

I returned to the parlor to find them laughing at some comment that must have been made in my absence. "Here you are." I handed Ms. Braginskaya her cup and Francis his bottle.

"Ah, good choice Matthieu! Are you sure you do not want any?"

She shook her head no, "I'm sure, thank you. I must say, Mr. Bonnefoy, you have a lovely home."

"Francis, please." He said, taking a sip from his glass. "And thank you, it gives me wonderful inspiration for work, and before I adopted Matthieu, a peaceful solitude from a social life."

I looked at him confused, "But according to Gilbert, you used to be quite the party animal?"

"Key words being 'used to.' Due to events that I do not wish to delve into at this time, I abandoned my old lifestyle for a more...er..._serene_ environment."

'I never knew that, I will have to inquire about that later,' I thought to myself. I could Ms. Braginskaya was intrigued as well, but kept silent to be polite.

A rather awkward quiet grew around us as we all drank slowly. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Francis cleared his throat, gaining our attention. "Matthieu? Would you mind excusing Ms. Braginskaya and I for a moment? There is something I wish to discuss with her."

I nodded and left the room, heading for the library for a much-anticipated read.

**Francis' POV:**

I watched as Matthieu left the room, waiting to speak until he had shut the doors.

"Katyusha."

I turned to his teacher (who was quite the beauty), surprised. "Pardon?"

"You told me to call you Francis, so please, call me Katyusha; I would have said so earlier, but I didn't want thing to get awkward for Matthew."

"All right then, Katyusha; it is a lovely name for such a lovely woman."

She laughed lightly, "Did you send the boy away so you could flirt with me?" A humorous glint in her eyes told me she was joking.

"Haha, alas, no. I had him leave because it is him I wish to discuss. You see, I am rather troubled by his progress in school."

"What do you mean? According to his other teachers, not just myself, he is the top student in all of their classes."

"That is exactly my concern; when he first started school, he was so excited-he would tell me about every class and random things that'd happened that day.

"But now, he hardly says anything about it. I asked him if something had happened, but he just looked at me with a bored expression, saying that that day was the same as all of the other days. I'm worried that he's not being challenged enough-he's never mentioned anything about something new he'd learned there, and he rarely talks about his friends anymore."

"Hmm...I understand your concern; even though he's my best student, all he ever does during class is read. His other teachers tell me that that's all he does in their classes, too."

"Well, I rather expected that, the boy is very smart for his age. What about his friends?"

"From what I've seen, he is friends with Peter Kirkland and his friends, but whenever we pass in the hall or I notice him in the cafeteria, he doesn't talk and almost seems to disappear into the background of their conversations."

"I'm not sure, but that may be a mix of his natural quietness and his lack of social experience."

"Weren't there other children at the orphanage?"  
>"He told me he couldn't stand it there, he avoided the others and they ignored him. I think I was the first to ever befriend him."<p>

"But you adopted him, that doesn't exactly count as a friendship."

"In that case, Gilbert would've been the first."

"I've heard Matthew mention this Gilbert many times, may I inquire as to who he is? That I know of, we don't have any Gilberts attending the middle school or high school."

I smiled and reached for a picture that was taken the last time we went out together with Antonio. "This is Gilbert," I said, pointing to the smirking albino. "He, Antonio, and I graduated five years ago."

"I see." Katyusha looked thoughtfully at the photo for a moment before turning back to me. "I'm afraid I don't really have any ideas to help with Matthew's social behavior except either talking to him about it or having him see a therapist." I knew therapy was out of the question-there was no way that would of any help without revealing his actual past.

"However, I think we should move him up a couple grades-maybe that'll be more challenging for him?"

I nodded at her, taking back the offered picture. "Maybe. We'll have to see what he thinks first; I don't want to force him to move up if he doesn't want to."

"Shall we go ask him, then?" We both stood up and I led her to the library.

I knocked on the door, opening it as I called to him, "Matthieu?" He looked up from his book and set it aside as we sat next to him. "It is to my understanding that you get the highest grades in all of your classes, correct?"

"Oui..." he agreed, tilting his head to the side curiously.

"What do you think of your classes? Are you getting anything out of being there?"

"Not really...everyone always talks about things I've already read about; no offense Ms. Braginskaya."

She smiled, "None taken."

"What about your friends? How do you get along with them?" I asked.

He shrugged, "OK, I guess...I don't really join in on their conversations anymore, though, they never seem to hear or see me."

"What would you say if you had the opportunity to move up a grade or two to see if it's more suited to your educational needs?"

He looked at us thoughtfully for a moment, "I suppose I'd say why not. A higher grade means harder assignments and a better learning experience all-together. I think it would, indeed, be better suited for my education. Why do you ask?"

I ignored his question, "Would you be willing to leave your friends behind?"

He shrugged again, "I don't really have that strong of and attachment to them, so I wouldn't be too bothered by it, and I'm sure they wouldn't be overly troubled by it, either. Why do you ask?" He questioned again.

"Because there is a way for us to do that-if it's really what you want," Katyusha placed her hands gently on his.

His eyes lit up. "Really? That would be great! I think my only regret-or maybe I should call it a hope-is that I'll get less reading time." He chuckled and I smiled.

"Bien! I'll go to the school's office tomorrow when I drop you off."

"Alright." We talked some more about the transfer, Katyusha giving us all of the details that she could, then the clock started chiming.

"Wow, it's really late; my brother and sister must be worried sick! I'm sorry, but I've got to go."

Matthieu and I walked her to her car. "It was very nice meeting you," I said, kissing her hand.

"Same to you, Francis. I had a nice time talking with you."

"See you tomorrow Ms. Braginskaya," Matthieu smiled.

"I'll make sure your last class with me is enjoyable. Have a good night."

"You too." We waved as she drove off. "Come, Matthieu, let us have supper before going to bed. Sound good?"

"Very!"

~O0O~

The next morning, I headed for the school's office while Matthieu went to class. I walked up to the secretary, smiling at her, "Bonjour, madame, I am Matthieu Bonnefoy's father."

"Ah yes, Katyusha said you'd be coming in; she's talking with the principal now. Have a seat until they're ready for you."

"Alright, thank you." I tugged at the frilly cuffs of my coat nervously-I couldn't help but remember the times I'd been called in here, back in the days when I was a member of the "Bad Touch Trio" with Toni and Gil. We used to get in so much trouble.

I was reminiscing about one time when the three of us had pranked Roderich Edelstein (Gilbert hated him)-Toni distracted him while Gil and I sabotaged his piano-when the secretary told me the principal would see me.

"Francis Bonnefoy. Still wearing the flashy clothing I see." I couldn't believe that old croak hadn't turned into a worm buffet yet. I smiled and took the seat next to Katyusha, nodding my greeting to her.

"I have always had a taste in fashion. But we are not here to discuss me, we are here for Matthieu."

"Yes, Ms. Braginskaya tells me that you wish to move him up a grade or so; that's a little presumptuous, don't you think? What makes you believe he's good enough?" It took all of my will power to stop myself from giving him a lovely new eye color.

"He is the top student in all of his classes; all of his other teachers, along with ourselves, are concerned that he's not getting anything out of being here," Katyusha intervened, undoubtedly noticing my near-explosion. "We all feel that it's in his best interest to move him ahead. He's told us that he's willing to try it."

"Like father, like son," the principal snorted. "Alright, Mr. Bonnefoy, sign this paper and have Matthew take it in to the high school office Monday morning."

"Is that it? OK, thank you for your time." I shook his hand and Katyusha and I walked out of the office. I turned to her, "Matthieu has your class first, oui?"

"Yes, would you like me to give him the paper?"

I smiled and shook my head gently, "No thank you, I want to see him sitting at his desk! I wonder how adorable he is in his classroom~"

She chuckled, "I'm sure he's no cuter than when he's reading at home. Come, my room is this way." I followed her to her class and we walked in just as the bell rang. "Would you like to sit in for this period? I have a special activity planned."

I beamed at her, thrilled to be able to enjoy a class with my dear Matthieu. "I would love to! I'll just sit by Matthieu in this empty desk~" I practically skipped to the seat, well aware of the students' gazes.

**Matthew's POV:**

_'Oh god, what is Francis doing?'_ I thought to myself, blushing and sinking down into my chair. Was he skipping? I turned to him and whispered, "What are you doing?"

"Enjoying a little blast from the past. Now be quiet and listen to your teacher." He smiled. I guess both the fact that he was still there and his good mood meant that they were successful in moving me up to the high school.

I turned to Ms. Braginskaya, who was talking about the activity she'd planned.

"Class, today is the last day for one of your fellow students. So, to make their last class here memorable, we're going to have a trip around the world!" I hadn't the slightest clue as to what she meant by that, but I cheered just as loud as the other kids, thinking that it'd be explained soon enough.

Peter raised his hand after all the "yippees" and "woo-hoos" were quieted. "Who's the one that's moving?"

Ms. Braginskaya looked to me, and I shrugged to let her know that I didn't care. "Matthew Bonnefoy." Everyone, except the three in that room who actually knew me, looked around curiously.

One girl raised her hand, "Um...teacher? Who's Matthew Bonnefoy?" Can't say I was expecting anything more than that, but much to my surprise, Peter actually defended me. I guess he does remember me from time to time.

"What are you talking about? This is Matthew!" He pulled me up from my chair as if to show off that he knew me. He turned to me after glaring at the class, "How come you're moving again? You just got here! And why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm not moving towns, I'm moving grades." I blushed as everyone gawked at me like I was a freak show (which I probably would be if they knew what I actually was). "I'll be starting high school on Monday. And I didn't tell you because I just found out for myself."

I blushed as the awkward staring intensified. Ms. Braginskaya must've noticed my uncomfortableness-that or she wanted to get on with the "trip" before class got out-and came to my rescue.

"Class, attention up here, please." I shot her a grateful glance as Peter and I sat back down. "First of all, for those of you who've either had me before or have heard of my special events from other students, who can tell me what I mean by a trip around the world? To the benefit of those who have no idea what I'm talking about." She smiled and called on some random kid who raised his hand.

"It's when you spend all class period talking about different countries, and let us sample some of their local cuisine and cultures."

"That's it exactly! Thank you Duke. Today, in honor of Matthew and his father, we're going to study France." I didn't think the smile on Francis' face could've grown bigger than it already was, it didn't seem physically possible, but it did. I hadn't seen him so excited since that first time I met Gilbert and Antonio.

"Mr. Bonnefoy, would you care to come up and share with us your homeland?"

"I would be delighted to!" Oh lord, he was skipping again. He grinned blindingly like an idiot as he addressed my classmates, "Bonjour les étudiants, my name is Francis Bonnefoy, and I was born in the city of love itself, Paris. Growing up, however, I lived throughout my beloved country, including, at one point, the historic city of Orléans-which is probably only significant to you if you've ever heard of Jeanne d'Arc..."

While Francis rambled enthusiastically about his culture, probably mentally scarring at least half of the people present for life, Ms. Braginskaya went to get the food she'd prepared.

I left with her so I could help carry stuff...and to escape the embarrassment that is my adopted father.

"Would you like me to carry that?" I asked, reaching for the heavy-looking crock pot of what smelled like bisque de crevettes.

She smiled and nodded, "I would very much appreciate that, thank you." She grabbed a couple trays of baguettes and followed me back to the room.

We'd entered just in time to hear Francis say, "And that is why, if you're a nobleman in France at the time, it was best to hide your cats." I looked at the very disturbed expressions on the kids' faces; Francis had been talking about the Reign of Terror...again.

He didn't seem to understand the concept of turning down the level of graphic description when it came to explaining wars to children. He scared some random kid we'd just met at the grocery store, literally, to tears. The poor fellow had asked Francis a question about the French Revolution for a history project (figuring he could get easy information from a Frenchman...foolish boy didn't realize that Francis didn't have a "rated-pg13-and-under" setting in his system).

Basically, Francis needed to never teach French history (or any history for that matter)-to anyone. I cleared my throat, gaining everyone's attention before he could start about Napoleon.

Ms. Braginskaya set her load on the table behind Francis, I followed suit. "Thank you, Francis, I'm sure everyone learned a great deal about France. Sadly, we don't have enough time for any more history if we are to eat..."

"It was no problem, I am always happy to share about my homeland." He resumed his seat next to mine, leaning over to whisper in my ear, "This class is very attentive, everyone was looking right at me, I didn't see any signs of texting or talking...what a well-behaved class."

I did my best to smile without grimacing (it didn't work, but thankfully his attention was back on the teacher), I got a feeling that the other students were paying him any mind because they were too shocked to say or do anything else.

I focused again on the front of the class, not wanting to be rude-especially at a 'party' set up for me. Ms. Braginskaya was talking about the different foods she'd brought-saying their names in both French and English.

She had a few students come up to pass out portions of each dish while she fetched a traditional French CD. She let us talk for the rest of class so that we could enjoy our food and music.

"She did really well on this!" Francis was delighted, to say the least.

"Yes, I'd heard rumors about her cooking, but they hardly do her justice." I hummed appreciatively at the aromatic bisque.

Suddenly, a body plopped into a chair that had been dragged over, making me jump and almost spill my soup. I looked over to see Peter.

"Hey! So I guess this is gonna be my last day to hang out with you, huh?"

"N-not necessarily, there's always after school..."

"You never hang out with anyone after school." He sounded almost bitter.

"No one ever asked if I wanted to; everyone always just left, too busy talking about what you all were going to do to notice that I'd been left behind." In the corner of my eye I could see Francis sneaking away, not wanting to intrude upon private matters.

Peter was taken aback, "I never realized...I'm sorry! I promise it won't happen again! Do you want to come over today?"

"I can't today," I smiled, "I have to make sure I have everything I need for high school." And Gilbert was coming over, but Peter didn't need to know that; I wasn't sure what he'd say about my best friend being my father's age. Not that that bothered me any, I just didn't want Peter to know about Gil...I couldn't figure out why.

"Can't you do that over the weekend? Oh, I know! Why don't we all hang out over the weekend? I can have a sleepover at my place!"

"There's a huge hockey tournament that I really don't want to miss-it's the big one to decide this year's best team." I tried to think over my options-it was a hard choice: biggest hockey event of the year, or hang out with friends for the first time...

"Well...hmm...normally I'd be upset that you'd consider a sport over your friends, but I know how much of a hockey-nut you are, so I understand."

I smiled again, apologetically, "Thanks, give me some time to think about it; maybe I can come up with a solution to make us both happy...do you get the hockey channel at your house?"

"No," he sighed, "we only have basic cable. Hey wait! Why don't we just have the sleepover at your house? None of us have been there, let alone seen it. We never even see you around town."

"Hmm, I could ask Francis, I'm sure he wouldn't mind me having company overnight. And as for seeing me or my house around town, good luck with that-I live in the woods and rarely come here outside of school.

"Cool, go ask him!" I scanned the room for my very French-enthusiastic guardian.

Spotting him chatting amicably with the teacher, I cringed at the poor woman's horror. "Damnit, not again!" I got up and hurried to her rescue.

"Hey, Francis?" He stopped mid-sentence, smiling at me. "I was wondering if I could have some friends spend the weekend at the house?"

I swear, at that moment every single light in the world couldn't compare to that blinding brilliance of his shock and happiness blended together by the rays of the sun itself. He jumped up and strangled me in tight embrace as he literally [over-dramatically] cried tears of joy.

"My petit Matthieu wants to have friends over! Oh, I am so happy-I thought this day would never come! Of course it's alright! How many will be attending?"

I smacked his arms, barely gasping out that I do, in fact, require air. He released me immediately and I smiled ruefully, "Thank you. I'm not sure who all will be coming, it depends on who's not busy." I grinned and thanked him for his permission before I sat back down next to Peter.

"So now we've just got to ask the others and see who can make it."

"Let's ask during lunch." Peter nodded and we quickly gathered our things as the bell rang.

~O0O~

**Gilbert's POV:**

I couldn't remember the last time I'd been so happy-Mattie had been the best thing that'd ever happened to me; aside from when West was born. Those past years after high school had been horrible! Since I never bothered with college, going strait to work instead, I hardly ever saw Frannie or Toni, let alone talked to them.

Those times I'd spent conversing with Mattie in the library brought the metaphorical sunshine back into my life. I eagerly anticipated the times I could go over and hang out with my best buddy-I don't care what you say, having a twelve-year-old for a best friend is not pathetic!

Then one day, he surprised me with something I'd never expected: he greeted me in German! And I don't mean no half-assed, poorly pronounced, sorry excuse for attempting my language. He was fluent.

I responded in German, thinking that he hadn't been taught enough yet to know how to reply to a non-typical answer. I felt like an idiot. A proud idiot for forgetting Mattie's brain. That entire visit, he and I spoke only German.

I'd never considered German to be adorable...but that was because I'd never heard Mattie speak it. I swear, if I'd have blushed any more my face would've burned off.

I couldn't wait to see if there'd be any more surprises as I pulled up to Frannie's house. I whistled to myself while I waited for someone to answer the door.

"Gilbert! Good to see you mon ami!" I returned Francis' hug as he led me inside. "Matthieu's in his typical spot. He's been so excited to tell you the good news, so I'll leave it up to him!" I knew it. I was about to ask him what kind of good news, but he'd walked off. To cook dinner probably.

I made my way to the library and immediately after I'd opened the door, I was greeted with the sight of the fidgety pre-teen. He turned his head toward me and smiled brightly.

"Hallo, Gilbert!" He stood up so I could take him into my arms-it'd been a while since I had last visited.

Pulling back, I grinned down at him, eyes of darkened water sparkled happily. "_So, I heard you have news for me?_"

"_Damnit, Francis, I wanted it to be a surprise!_" He pouted a little.

I laughed at how impossibly cute he was being. "_Don't worry, I only know that there is a surprise, Francis left you to tell me._"

"_Still, he ruined it because now you're expecting it..._"

I laughed again, "_I'm sure I'll still be shocked. Now come on! I'm dying here; what is it?_"

Just as Mattie was about to answer, Francis burst into the room carrying a bottle of wine and three glasses.

"Has Matthieu told you yet? Oh, isn't it fantastic? I knew it was going to happen-I just didn't figure that it'd take them this long!"

I groaned, "Seriously! He hasn't told me what it is yet! Now I have to know!"

Mattie grinned mischievously. "Oh, I don't know...I think you could stand to wait a little longer...maybe I'll tell you after dinner. What do you think Francis?"

They're so fucking evil. Francis winked, "It's up to you mon cher."

"Oh come on! That's just mean!" Matthew and Francis looked at each other for a brief moment while I fumed silently. There was a pause before the corners of my mouth started twitching, Matthew snorted a little as he tried holding back his giggling.

The whole room echoed with our mirth. Wiping a tear from my eye, I tried to control my breathing.

"Okay, joking aside, what's the good news? The awesome me doesn't have endless patience and I won't hesitate to tickle-or beat in Frannie's case-it out of you."

Sill giggling, Mattie took my hand and led me to the sofa. "Sorry, I just had to see your reaction. Anyway, what I've been dying to tell you is that I've been moved to the high school! I'll be starting the tenth grade on Monday!"

"Heilige Scheiße, Mattie! That's awesome!" I hugged him again as Francis made a show of uncorking the wine bottle. "Hey, this means you'll be going to school with West; do me a favor?"

Matthew looked at me with his adorable innocence; my heart skipped as he said, "Anything. What is it?"

"Tell me if he's as much of a stick-in-the-mud as he is at home." I laughed, trying to fight back that too-familiar rose tint that seemed to follow me every time I visited.

He chuckled. "From what I saw that first day of junior high when he showed me around, he is rather uptight. But he was really nice. He's a junior right?"

"Yep, it seems like only yesterday he was a little kid trying to follow me to school."

Francis smiled as he handed me a glass of the deep red liquid. "I remember that! You walked up to me and Toni one day with a serious-faced little blonde boy hot on your tail! It was so cute! The whole day we couldn't get him to go home, what with both of your parents being at work, so petit Ludwig got to spend the whole school day with his 'awesome' big brother."

"Yeah, and I had to keep him under constant protection from your dirty hands! I believe I gave you two black eyes and a bloody nose, correct?"

Matthew started giggling, "You two sound so old!"

Francis blanched, "You think I'm old?"

"Calm down, Frannie, you know he didn't mean it that way. There's no way we're old, you're the same age as me-younger in fact!"

"Besides, I'm a kid," Mattie said in between giggles, "so of course I'm going to call you old!"

I couldn't help but smile at his logic. "We were the same way-to us our parents were ancient!"

"Oui, I remember my papa trying out American teen lingo one time; it was horrible!"

We spent the rest of the night recalling our childhood shenanigans to Mattie, who laughed so hard tears came to his eyes. But when I looked deeper, I could see the sorrow he was so bravely trying to hide. My heart immediately went out to the pitiful boy. I couldn't even imagine what his life had been like before Francis.

I checked the time when I'd noticed Matthew start to yawn. I stretched and stood up, "Wow, time seems to go faster every time I come here! I've got to get going, got work in the morning."

Francis and I man-hugged before I turned to Mattie. He looked very tired.

"You should probably head off to bed pretty soon, you look like you've had a long day."

He yawned as he nodded his head. "Kind of. I'm having some friends over tomorrow, so it'll probably be another long day."

I smiled and hugged the boy, "Awesome! I hope you all have a good time! Well, goodnight Mattie, Frannie." I waved and walked out the door.

I sighed as I drove home, wondering if there'd ever be the day when Mattie trusted me enough to tell me his past. I certainly hoped so.

I noticed a yellow vespa parked outside of my house when I pulled up the drive. I opened the front door to see West and Feliciano asleep on the couch.

I chuckled quietly as my brother subconsciously pulled Feli closer to him. I turned off the TV and covered the two with a blanket, then headed to the phone so I could let Feli's grandfather know that he'd be staying the night.

After I got the okay from Mr. Vargas, I climbed the stairs to my room and collapsed on the bed-not bothering to remove my clothes. I laid there, slowly drifting to sleep, thinking of Mattie.

* * *

><p><strong>I was hoping to add the sleepover in this chapter before moving on to the next, but I figured you faithful readers have waited long enough for it. I want to start the next chapter with Mattie's first day of high school, though, so what I think I'll do is just have a short chapter dedicated to the sleepover, then the fourth chapter moving on to the high school.<strong>

**Unfortunately, I do not know when I will have either of these two chapters ready or uploaded; we are being forced to hand in our school-issued laptops soon (due to the impending end of the year), and being a senior, I have to turn mine in earlier than all of the underclassmen. So I only have this computer until the 10th this month...and it sucks.  
><strong>

**Along with that, summer is coming up and I am hoping to find a job. So that will probably also interfere with my writing time.  
><strong>

**I will try my best in terms of uploading within reasonable time frames, but no promises. I apologize once more for all the waiting, and thank you for your patience.  
><strong>


	4. Chapter 3

**FINALLY! The next chapter is here...after waiting for about a year...yeeeaaaah...sorry about that...Just because no one really cares, here's a brief "what's-been-going-on-in-my-life-that-may-possibly -give-an-excuse-for-my-lack-of-updating": I graduated high school (yay), I had a moderately eventful summer full of "excitement", familial problems, getting depressed and really pissed off a lot, and drama that I stupidly wished for as a child (seriously...I thought my life was so boring that I actually wished, WISHED, for some kind of drama to happen...I was such an idiot...why...why did I wish for such a thing?). I started college-moved to a different state, living on-campus in an all-girls' residency (fun-ish), experiencing for the first time the stress of actual hard schoolwork (when you're in high school, you think it can't get much worse...well for you high schoolers out there reading this, let me tell you-IT DOES! High school is a breeze in comparison to this crap!). Somehow I managed to get on the President's List last semester for being one of the top ten freshmen and so am under even more pressure this semester to not fuck up and get that status taken away. Stress...not fun...I know this now...I'm almost finished with my first year, and next year I'll be a senior (this is a two-year prep-college). And with my major, I have to have at least a Master's degree to get any decent kind of job when I graduate, so that's another six years for me...if I go for just two more I'll have achieved a Doctorate level, so that's something I'm considering. I just want it to fucking end! UGH!**

**Anyway, enough with this shit. About this chapter: I apologize now for any sentences that seem way too formal for middle schoolers speak. I'm not very good at dialogue for different age groups...just another thing I need to work on. I also apologize for awkward group dialogue. It's very hard, in my opinion, to write a bunch of people having a conversation and interacting with each other. I tried my best. As per usual, please let me know if you find any grammar mistakes, spelling mistakes, or mistakes in general and I'll fix it as soon as I can.**

**I really appreciate all the followers I'm getting for this story, I honestly didn't think it'd be so popular :) So thank you, and I apologize again for the long-ass wait. I have yet to start the 4th chapter, so you should probably anticipate another long wait-though I'll do my best to ensure that it's not another year's worth.**

**Please review to let me know what you think of my story-I get practically no feedback what-so-ever. Even if it's just to tell me that my writing skills suck, I'd like to know...just please don't be mean...**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hetalia, Wal-Mart (a chain super-store in case anyone who reads this has never heard of it), Guitar Hero, Rock Band, or any of the other games that are mentioned later (spoiler alert, sorry). If I did...I'd be really fucking rich and wouldn't have to worry about college expenses...which would be a whole new definition of relief.**

**So, without further ado, enjoy ch. 3 :)**

* * *

><p><strong>Matthew's POV:<strong>

I had such a great time with Gil Thursday night, but I had stayed up too late-I ended up nodding off throughout my morning classes. It was lunchtime when Peter saved me from face-planting into a pile of mashed potatoes.

"Dude, are you OK, Matthew?"

"Yeah, sorry, I was so excited about this weekend that I couldn't sleep." I paused to yawn before continuing, "So who all can come?"

Peter smiled, happy that I wasn't backing out or something. "Well there's me, Raivis, Tÿr, and his "friend" Kaoru. Is that all right?"

"What do you mean by '_friend_'?"

"They're friends, but they obviously like each other."

"Oh, OK. Yeah that's fine. So are we all meeting outside of the school? That's where Francis usually picks me up."

"Yeah, I think so." We got up to dump our trays and headed our separate ways to homeroom. "I'll see you later!"

I smiled and returned his wave, then made my way to class.

~O0O~

I greeted everyone as they walked up to Peter and me outside the main entrance. "Hey! Do you all have your stuff or do you need Francis to run you home first?" No one raised his hand. "OK. Oh hey, Francis is on time for once!" I smiled so they would know I was joking.

We piled into his car and set off for home. He smiled at each of my friends as I introduced them. "Francis, this is Peter, Tÿr, Kaoru, and Raivis. Everyone, this is my father, Francis."

"It's nice to finally meet you all. I bought a bunch of soda and snacks and I'm ordering pizza tonight."

Everyone cheered. The rest of the ride was silent and rather awkward, so I was glad when we reached the house. There were gasps and gapes all around as we pulled up the drive.

I led them inside and immediately took them to the living room so they could drop off their bags. "I'll take you on a tour of the house if you'd like?" They all agreed so I showed them the kitchen, bathrooms, various bedrooms and other rooms rarely used, Francis' office, and finally, saving my favorite for last, the library.

"This is where I spend most of my time, but we'll probably be more focused on the T.V. room, kitchen, and bathrooms."

"What kind of books are here? Like are they all encyclopedias or something?"

I smiled as I answered Kaoru, "There are a lot of encyclopedia sets, yes, but there're so many other kinds of books as well. It's basically the same as a public library or the school's media center, except that it's in our house."

Peter laughed, "You're such a nerd, being so excited about this!"

I knew he was only teasing me, but his remark was so spot-on that I blushed anyway. "Yeah, well, I like to read."

"Don't be mean, Peter, especially in his own home." Tÿr actually stood up for me; I must admit that I was surprised.

"It's OK. So anyway, what do you guys want to do? Should you get your homework out of the way now so that you won't have to worry about it later?" My reasoning made sense to me, but apparently not to Peter.

"That's no fun; why would I want to waste a sleepover doing homework?"

"I think it's a good idea. This way we can concentrate on having a good time and not have to cram Sunday night-like I know you'll do, Peter."

"Who, me? I'd never do such a thing, Raivis! I'm hurt that you'd even think that of me! Besides, Arthur would never stand for that. He has to be a 'good example' after all."

I could tell it was a touchy subject for him, so I quickly diverted his attention. "So if that's the case, let's do it! I don't have any homework, so if anyone needs me for anything, I'll be getting some snacks from the kitchen."

Everyone agreed and they went back to the living room and I met Francis at the counter.

"How's everything going; you boys hungry?"

"It's going great! Everyone is getting their homework out of the way, so I thought I'd bring some snacks."

"I'm glad to hear that, mon cher. I have work to do, so I'll be in my office if you need me. Let me know when you want me to order the pizza."

"Alright," I called as I carried the pop and chips back to my friends. "OK, who wants what?"

"I'll take a Mountain Dew!"

"Me, too!"

"I'll have the Fanta, thanks."

"Sprite's good for me, thank you."

"OK, that leaves the Ginger Ale for me; there's a ton more, so help yourselves. For chips, we have Sour Cream and Onion, Baked Cheddar, Cheetos, and Barbeque."

"Sweet! When was your dad planning on getting the pizza?"

"You can call him Francis, and he said whenever we were all hungry."

"I think we should wait until it's later, that way we can eat it while we watch movies."

"Sounds good to me, how about you, Kaoru?"

"I'm fine with that."

"How about you, Peter?"

"Yeah, I suppose so. Oh yeah! When's that hockey thing you wanted to watch?"

"That's not until tomorrow evening. None of you mind watching it with me, right? If you don't want to, I could always put a movie in one of the other T.V.'s…"

"That's OK, I've never seen a hockey game before. I'm kind of curious."

"Same here."

"I think we all want to watch it." I grinned happily as everyone nodded their heads.

"Awesome! Well until then, what do you guys have for homework? Maybe I could help?"

"All I have is English, and I've pretty much finished it."

"Math and science; they're not too hard, it won't take me long."

Raivis smiled, "I finished mine while you were getting the snacks."

"You guys suck! I have that history assignment, math, and science! I haven't started on any of them!"

"That's your own fault, Peter. That history paper was given to us two days ago! And you had plenty of time in class to do your math, what were you doing all period?"

"Doodling." Smacking sounds resounded as we all face-palmed.

"Well, you better get a move on if you don't want us waiting on you."

"Alright, alright; yeesh, you guys are worse than my brother."

"Peter, no one is worse than your brother when it comes to schoolwork."

"True."

"Well, there is that one guy; you know-the German? He's the vice-president at the high school. My older brother, Yao, told me that he's a real stickler for the rules."

I felt bad that they were talking behind Ludwig's back, so I rushed to defend him. "Ludwig isn't that bad, really. Yes he's a stick-in-the-mud, but he's a really nice person. He showed me around the school on the first day."

"Oh yeah, I remember seeing him wandering around the middle school with another blonde boy trailing him-I never realized that was you. Sorry."

"That's OK. He gave me a tour because his older brother is one of Francis' best friends."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, they went to school together, along with Antonio Fernandez. They've told me so many stories of all the trouble they used to get into! They were known as the 'Bad Touch Trio'."

Everyone laughed. "What's with the name?"

"I'm not really sure, actually." We continued to talk as everyone finished their homework.

"Hey, stop having so much fun while I'm stuck working!"

"You're still on math, Peter? Are you stuck on a problem?"

"No," he sighed, "I just keep getting distracted. I hate math so much…"

"It's OK, you'll get through it," Raivis laughed.

"Maybe we should move somewhere else so that we won't distract him"

"No! I don't want to be left alone!"

"Are you scared?"

"No! I just don't like being alone!"

"Ha ha! He's scared!"

Raivis patted the blushing blonde on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, if you want I'll stay with you. It never hurts to check your work and edit."

"Ok…"

Tÿr, Kaoru, and I left Peter and Raivis alone so they could finish and I led them to the parlor so we could watch T.V.

"What should we watch?"

"How about Sci-fi? That channel has some pretty good shows."

"OK with me, what about you, Matthew?"

"Yeah, that sounds cool." I turned the T.V. on and started looking for the channel. "What's 'Fact or Fake'?"

"It's that show where these guys try to prove or disprove urban legends."

"Sounds cool."

"It is, they team up the 'Ghost Hunters' a lot."

We had been sitting there for at least an hour when Raivis and Peter joined us.

"Sorry it took so long, but we're finished now."

"Great! So what do you guys want to do?"

"What kind of games do you have?"

"Uh…honestly, I have no idea…Let's go ask Francis."

As we made our way to Francis' office, Peter asked me, "How can you not know what games you have?"

"Well…I've never actually _played_ any games before…" My voice shrank under everyone's incredulous stares. "I'm sorry?"

"You mean you've never played any type of a game: video, board, card, sport, or imaginary?" Peter looked like he didn't believe me.

"That's right. I've never had anyone to play with-I've almost always been alone, so I just read; even after Francis adopted me. Look, can we change the subject, please?" I was growing very uncomfortable.

Peter was about to say something, but Raivis stopped him. Tÿr and Kaoru looked rather awkward. I knocked on Francis' door and entered when he called out in answer.

"Do we have any games?"

"I know I have a deck of cards somewhere. As for board or video games, I've never had anyone to enjoy them with, so I never got any-Gilbert and Antonio rarely visited before you. I supposed I'll have to get some eventually-who wants to make a trip to Wal-Mart?"

Everyone cheered so Francis grabbed his keys and wallet and we piled into the car.

~O0O~

"Thank you for getting us some games, but don't you think you went a little overboard?" In just one trip to one store, Francis got five board games, a machine called 'Catch Phrase,' 'Uno Attack,' an x-box, and ten different games to go with it-including two band sets for 'Guitar Hero' and 'Rock Band.'

"You think so? I just grabbed what I thought a bunch of boys your age would like to play."

Peter laughed from the back seat of the car, "So 'Dirty Minds' is a game you thought was suitable for us?"

"Well…Ok, I got that one for me and my friends to play, but all the rest are for you boys."

"Awesome! Why can't my dad be this cool?" I blushed in embarrassment, and Francis beamed.

"I'm glad you think so highly of me. Hey, it's almost six, what kind of pizzas do you want?"

"I prefer cheese."

"Supreme."

"I like supreme."

"I'm good with whatever."

"Same here."

"Alright, that was fairly simple. So I'll get one large cheese and one large supreme. Does anyone want breadsticks?" Everyone's hands shot up. Francis laughed, "I guess everyone. Ok, I'll order a box of those as well."

When we got home, it took all of us to carry everything into the house. Francis called the local pizzeria (the only one in town and they didn't deliver) to place our order.

"Alright, merci." He hung up the phone and turned to us, "About an hour-they seem to be very busy. I'll head out in 30 minutes. You boys run off and play, I'll bring the pizza to the kitchen when I get back." With that he turned and headed back to his office.

Peter smiled, "Let's set up the x-box!"

"What should we play first?"

"I vote on 'Portal'!"

"That's not much fun as a multiplayer game. What about 'Soul Caliber IV'? That's fun and it's easy to take turns."

"I don't know how to play; you guys will have to teach me."

"Don't worry, Matthew, I'm not much of a video game player either, so you and I are in the same boat." I smiled at Raivis.

"I don't believe you two. How can you not like video games?"

"There wasn't a T.V. at the orphanage I lived in." Peter went silent. I really needed to learn to not make people feel so awkward. "Anyway, so will you guys teach Raivis and me how to play?"

Kaoru, usually expressionless, had an uncharacteristically mischievous look in his eyes. Luckily for us, Tÿr had noticed it, too.

"Kaoru, no cheating!" He turned his gaze to us, "He plays this game a lot, so he knows all of the best combos for the different characters. It's especially bad when he plays against someone else using the character he created." Tÿr pinched Kaoru's arm as he continued, "He used all kinds of cheats to upgrade."

Peter smirked, "I suppose, then, this means war. I love a good challenge!"

"Hey, don't forget about the rest of us!" But Raivis had spoken too late, they were already rushing to set everything up.

I laughed as the other two sighed, "Looks like we'll be playing a board game. How about 'Apples to Apples'? How to you play that?"

We sat down on the floor, away from Peter and Kaoru's rowdy fighting over who gets to be first player. Tÿr explained the rules of the game to me.

"Ok, so we want to put the card that we think best suits the green card?"

Raivis nodded, "That's right. But when I play with Peter and his family and Alfred, Alfred just puts down what he thinks is the funniest."

"Ok, so who starts?"

Tÿr volunteered. He drew a green card that said "humorous." I looked at my hand trying to find something that could be perceived as humorous. I had a choice of Batman, Dolly Parton, Quesadilla, Big Ben, or Hockey. Well, even though it was my favorite choice, I really didn't think 'humorous' suited hockey. So I laid down Big Ben. I couldn't think of anything else.

"You have to draw another card now; you've got to keep five in your hands."

"Ok."

Tÿr picked up the two discarded reds and read them aloud. "Laffy Taffy and Big Ben…how are either of these two humorous?"

"_Laffy _Taffy, hello?" I have to admit, that was pretty clever.

We continued to play Apples to Apples, barely paying any attention to the fact that Kaoru had beaten Peter, or that they had eventually joined us; I never knew that games could be so much fun.

We played so long that we were surprised when Francis came into the room telling us that he'd called for us ten minutes previous.

"I'm sorry, I didn't even know you had left. Does this mean the pizza's here?"

"Oui, luckily it hasn't gotten cold yet." We whooped with delight and ran to the kitchen.

"What movies should we watch?"

"I vote on action movies!"

"Second!"

"Third!"

"Ok, let's go see what we have."

Peter picked one from the rack, "This one is awesome! We should definitely watch it!"

I took it from him."'XXX'? Never seen it."

"It's said like 'Triple X', it's amazing! Full of awesome stunts, killing, and explosions!"

"Cool, anyone against?" There were no disagreements, so I put the disk into the DVD player. We devoured our pizza as we lie in front of the T.V.-completely enraptured by the booming effects. We got through three movies before we were out.

~O0O~

I woke up early the next morning so that I could treat everyone to breakfast-which was, of course, pancakes. As the stack grew, so did the aroma. I knew it had spread all over the house when Francis and the guys piled around the stove.

"Give me some room! I can't cook while being so cramped. Just take a seat at the table, they're almost done."

I could feel their eyes on my back-it kind of crept me out. "Ok, they're done-stay seated!" Everyone sat back down. They had a look of wild beasts about to go into a feeding frenzy. "I will take them to you. Eat all you want, there's plenty and I can always make more."

"Matthieu, I don't know how I lived before your pancakes. Trés bon!"

"Bloody 'ell, Matthew! Where'd you learn to cook like this?"

"I've never had such great flap jacks!"

"These are fantastic!"

"They're so fluffy!"

"I'm glad you like them," I smiled shyly, "Francis taught me how to cook them."

"Oui, I taught you what to use and what to do, but you have a natural gift for it; I never could make flap jacks-mostly because before yours, I'd always preferred crêpes."

"Can I have some more?"

"Oh! Me too!"

"Same, please."

"Of course, I made a lot."

After we finished eating, Francis offered to do the dishes so that I could go play. The whole day we played video games and board games; then it came time for the hockey tournament. Everyone sat clear of me because of my…enthusiasm…

Everyone, except me, was so tired that they all passed out not even halfway through the tournament. I was surprised that my shouting and cheering didn't wake them; and if it did, then they were very skilled at ignoring it.

I was still very much awake when the game ended, so I turned the T.V. off and crept into the library, passing Francis' office as I went. I could tell he had fallen asleep at his desk because I could hear soft snoring drifting through the cracks of the double-doors. I grabbed a blanket from the nearest spare room and draped it over his hunched shoulders. I turned the light off and quietly closed the door.

"I suppose I should also cover the others so that they don't get cold," I said to myself. So I grabbed a few more blankets and made sure they were all adequately covered. Then I disappeared into the library for some long-awaited reading.

**Francis' POV:**

I jerked awake. I'd fallen asleep at my desk, but I swore someone had been in my office with me. I looked around to see no one. As I stood up, something heavy fell from my shoulders. Clicking on my desk lamp, I saw that it was one of the spare blankets. It must have been Matthieu.

I padded quietly to the T.V. room to find the boys fast asleep-all except Matthieu. Knowing exactly where he'd be I headed to the library. I glanced inside and, sure enough, there he was, sitting in his chair and getting cozy with another book. With the way he plowed through those things, I'm surprised he hadn't swept through my whole collection yet. I would have to take him shopping for more books.

"Matthieu," I said as I came up to him, "why are you still up?"

"I couldn't sleep-I have too much adrenaline left from hockey."

"I see. Do you mind if I join you, then?"

"Not at all; please!" He smiled and I sat on the sofa next to him.

"So what are you absorbing this time?"

"War and Peace, it's pretty interesting; have you ever read it?"

"I can't say that I have. I haven't even seen most of the books here. I'm glad they're finally getting some use."

"How did you get them if haven't seen them?" He asked, confused.

I laughed. "Didn't I tell you? This house belonged to my father before me; the books were his collection. I inherited everything when he died…I was ten at the time, I believe."

His eyes widened, "You were so young…I'm sorry…what about your mother?"

"I barely knew my mother-she left when I was very little. I don't even remember what she looked like. The only thing I remember about her is her voice calling my name." I closed my eyes as I recalled the sound. "Her voice was so soft and gentle. So full of love…but then that had to have been false; how else would she have been able to leave her family?"

I reopened my eyes to see Matthieu tearing up. Suddenly, he sprang up and wrapped his arms around my waist, his face buried against my chest as he wept. I hugged the pitiful boy, resting my chin on his head.

"Shh, shh; it's OK, Matthieu. Honestly, what would your friends think if they were to walk in on you like this?"

"It's fine, they're completely out; I don't think anything except the smell of food could wake them now." He sniffed and I laughed; after a bit he joined me.

He sat up and I wiped the tears from his eyes. "Thank you, Matthieu. Rarely am I shown such sympathy."

"I'm sorry for crying on you."

"Don't worry about it, it's just water."

"Actually, it's not. Tears are made up of—

"Don't ruin the moment, Matthieu. Just accept what I've said to be true." We both laughed.

He returned to his chair and I picked up the book that had fallen. We talked about numerous things of little importance for a while before I brought up a question I'd been pondering over for some time.

"Matthieu, there's something I've been meaning to ask you about….you don't have to answer me if it's too awkward or painful."

"What is it?"

"I've been wondering about where you came from. What's it like? I was hoping you could describe some different aspects of it."

"Sure! I'd love to share my heritage with you!

"Well first of all, the realm isn't like a planet-it's not round. It's kind of like an island floating in space. There are edges, of which, if one were to walk off, they would literally fall into oblivion. No one knows what's out there or where you'd end up, but people have definitely fallen off. Some committed what you'd call suicide-for some reason or another. There were a couple of young ones who were tumbling around, play-fighting; they got too close to an edge and rolled right off. One male was actually pushed off because of some quarrel. The one who pushed the other was severely punished."

"Punished…as in how?"

"Well, murder is a crime of the highest consequences. It is _the_ unforgivable sin. So as punishment, the murderer is brutally tortured before getting banished to some other realm."

My eyes widened with horror. "Please tell me they did not torture you!" He looked away. I'd felt anger many times before, but never like I did then. At that single moment, I wanted to hurt another like I never had before. I wanted whoever beat my boy to pay-dearly.

"Fortunately, they were a little less harsh on me than would be considered normal because I was the heir to the throne. However, once I was declared banished, I was no longer related to the King. I was just trash to be exposed of."

"You are not trash! You are my son-blood or not! And I will not let another soul harm you in any way-this I promise you!"

His smile held such pure happiness, my anger dissipated at the sight of it. I sighed, "Please, tell me more about your world."

He nodded and continued. "As you know, I chose to be Canadian partially because of its landscaping (which is not only beautiful, but it's also very similar to Vaneshk). Well, at least it is in Northern Canada. Vaneshk's geography is very barren, mountainous, and rocky.

"It's a very dark realm. The only source of light comes from the Peak of the Great One-the peak of the highest mountain, visible to all throughout the land. Long ago, the Peak was blessed by the Great One because He felt pity for His people having to live in perpetual darkness. All He did was stand on the mountain top for a brief moment; and ever since, it's glowed a majestic silver so pure that if you look at it directly, your eyes will smolder and burn in your sockets, leaving you completely and permanently blind.

"The Great One, as you may well assume, is our creator-our God. He is the All Powerful-none are mightier than He. Not even the King. He has many underlings-similar to angels under the Christian god. Each underling has a gift, a power, unique to him. There is only one female underling, and she is Yapshnu-the one who blessed me. The underlings are constantly flying around the realm, forming an ever-spinning halo in the sky.

"When a young one comes of age, a random underling will fall to the ground. He can't rejoin the others until he does a kindness toward the 'New One.' It's by mutual agreement that they bless the child with the only thing they can call their own; so that is why we have different powers along with our telepathy. Mine, however, are not only unique-they're also rare. Because Yapshnu is the only female, the Great One granted her an additional ability over all of the others: she can choose when to fall and for whom. I was one of her chosen few. No one knows how or why she makes her decision.

"I'm not boring you, am I Francis?"

I was so absorbed in his descriptions that I was startled when he broke and talked to me again. "Of course you're not! I've never been more intrigued about history-even France cannot compare! Do, please, continue!"

He smiled and went on. "OK. Um…what was I going to say next…?" He went silent as he collected his thoughts. "Ah, yes! Now I remember; I was going to tell you our creation story!" I nodded and leaned forward as encouragement.

"Many, many years ago, before there was any light, the primitives of Vaneshk lived in total blindness-to the point where they didn't even have eyes. They land was desolate and cold; you were lucky to reach your tenth cycle (or year). There would have been less birthing if the females had a choice; but because of the the way their bodies were made, they had to mate at least once a cycle or else they would be in mortal agony. If they didn't mate and conceive a babe, then they would birth they're own insides until nothing was left and they died. Like humans, they valued life-regardless of how pitiful it was."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but if they couldn't see, then how did they find an appropriate mate?"

"Smell," Matthieu replied, tapping his nose. "When it's time for a female to mate, she will excrete a gas from her…erm…" his face went bright red and I understood immediately.

"I get what you mean. So she would let out a type of pheromone?"

He nodded, "exactly. A male could smell it from very far away, and they would run as fast as they could-lest they arrived too late and she'd been taken by another. Sometimes two or more males would arrive at once and would fight each other until only one was left alive.

"The female, once impregnated, would carry the unborn for a quarter-cycle before birthing a live babe. The babe immediately was able to walk, eat, and get about on its own, so the mother would leave it to fend for itself. Whether or not the babe survived was never certain; sometimes they would grow up to become the next generation, sometimes they starved to death because they weren't strong enough, or most of the time, they were hunted by the males and devoured."

"They would eat their own young?" I asked appalled.

"Yes, to the primitive males, a child was the same thing as easy prey. It never mattered to them that they could possibly have eaten a young one of their own blood. The females, thankfully, had a semi-motherly instinct, so even though they abandoned their children, they didn't eat them.

"This way of living went on for thousands of cycles. But suddenly one "day," a bright light came to the realm from the skies. The Great One had come to Vaneshk."

"You mean he wasn't there from the start? He just happened upon your land?"

"Uh-huh. We don't know how or when life started on Vaneshk; what I'm telling you are the recollections of those who were alive and witness to His coming. So to us, this is our creation-or re-creation.

"Anyway; so the Great One landed on the peak of what is now known as the highest mountain. He banished the darkness and gave the people light. Flaps on the peoples' faces opened to reveal eyes they never knew they had. He changed the physiology of the females' bodies so that their insides wouldn't come out if they didn't mate every cycle. He also strengthened the motherly instinct within them so that they wouldn't abandon their children. He taught them about family and community.

"Then He said, _'Now you can see; stop slinking around and fighting with each other like animals. Rise up and own this land. I give you many gifts; use them wisely.'_

"While His voice was still echoing through the land, He ascended back into the sky-disappearing forever more-and down came the underlings. There was one underling for each person alive at the time, and they became the first to be blessed. The underlings rose in the sky using their massive wings of pure energy (invisible, now, to the people, but felt by all living creatures), and started to fly in a uniform circle around the entire landmass.

"The people rejoiced in their newfound abilities and so built the two great kingdoms that make up my home world today. They named their land 'Vaneshk,' which means 'saved by the light.' The two kingdoms became Rak'alulshik-land of learning-where I'm from, and Rak'rimanshneh-land of industry. The two work together to give everyone equal chances of learning and to progress themselves, technologically-speaking. That is why I am able to absorb so much information in such little time; it's because my people are a lot more advanced than humans. No offense."

"None taken. What an interesting history. So the underlings are the ones who gave you the abilities to talk and learn?"

"No, we'd always been able to talk, and the Great One gave us the ability to learn. It's like He implanted the knowledge into the Originals' minds."

"Are the 'Originals' the ones who were first to be blessed?"

"Yes, sorry. And what I've been calling the 'groups,' such as the Originals, the New Ones, the females, or the Great One, are rough translations from my language. The literal translations are very confusing."

"I see. Well, I will have to ask you to tell me more at a later date. It is very late-the sun will be rising in just a couple of hours." I yawned at the same time Matthieu did.

"I agree. Good night, Francis." He hugged me then went to the T.V. room to sleep with his friends.

I made my way to my bedroom pondering over what Matthieu had told me. "This will be really helpful to me for my project." I was so tired that I didn't even bother to change out of my clothes. I crawled into bed and went out like a light.

~O0O~

**Matthew's POV:**

I woke up the next morning later than usual, but somehow still earlier than the others. I went to the bathroom to take a bath, and when I was done, I passed a frazzled Francis.

"Did you just wake up, too?"

He couldn't even open his eyes, he looked so tired. He yawned and groggily nodded his head. "Oui…we might have stayed up a tad too late, what do you think?" He responded with a smile.

I laughed lightly, "probably. Oh well, nothing we can do about it now. Why don't you go back to bed? I'll bring you a cup of tea later if you'd like?"

He smiled and put his hand on my head. "While that sounds lovely, mon cher, I'm afraid I can't go back to bed. I have a deadline to meet for my work, remember?"

"Oui, I remember. But you're not going to get much done if you're tired. You won't be able to focus and you'll probably end up falling asleep and hurting yourself." I turned him around and started pushing him away from his office. "So go back to bed. I'll come wake you in a couple of hours."

"You make an offer I don't think you'll allow me to refuse." He laughed.

"That's right. And if I catch you out of bed just once, you're going to be in a lot of trouble."

"But what if I have to go to the bathroom?" He asked with an amused smirk.

"Just a second, wait right here." I left him standing there, and returned smiling sweetly. I handed him an empty wine bottle, "here you go!"

He looked at it and burst out laughing. "I need to tell Gilbert to stop putting ideas into your head."

I smiled, "I didn't get this from Gil." He just laughed harder.

"Seriously, though, go back to bed. Now," I gently pushed him into his room and closed the door on his startled expression.

After I put the bottle back where I'd found it, I started heating up the left-over pizza for my friends' breakfast. I put the now-hot slices on a large serving platter, grabbed a stack of cups and a bottle of juice, and went to the disheveled forms of my companions. They were just waking up as I entered the room.

"Looks like I was right," I laughed, "food was the only thing that would wake you!"

"What was that?" Peter mumbled.

"Oh nothing; I brought breakfast: left-over pizza and juice."

"Sweet!" Everyone thanked me as they grabbed a piece.

"Matthew, how is it that you're up so early despite the fact that you went to bed later than us?" Peter asked with his mouth full of food.

Raivis reprimanded him, "Don't talk with your mouth full, Peter, it's rude!" That only caused him to open his mouth and show us his wad of chewed pizza.

"Ah! Dude, that's disgusting!"

"Seriously!"

I just barely managed to hold my food down. "Please close your mouth. And as for being up before you, I just do it out of habit. I've never slept in, no matter how late I'd stayed up the night before.

"Dude, what are you?"

I looked at him terrified he'd overheard me talking to Francis. I tried to act confused, "W-what do you mean?"

Raivis hit Peter in the arm-hard. "Apologize, now! That wasn't nice!"

Peter looked rueful because of his arm, but he appeared sincere when he apologized. "I didn't mean it, Matthew, honestly. Sometimes I speak without thinking."

I smiled at him, "don't worry about it. I wasn't offended, I was just confused." More like relieved. I'd read about heart attacks, but that was probably the closest I'd ever come to one. "What time do you want me to ask Francis to take you home?"

"How about around noon; that way we could hang out some more and leave before mooching off your food again."

I laughed, "Trust me, you're not mooching. Does twelve sound good to everyone?" They all agreed.

So for the next couple of hours, we played some more games. At about eleven-thirty I left the others to go make Francis his tea. As I was waiting for the water to boil, Kaoru joined me in the kitchen.

I smiled at him, "Hey. Are you having a good time?"

He nodded-his usual expressionless state intact. "Yeah, it's a lot of fun here." We stood there in an awkward silence. He pulled out a chair from the table and sat down, staring at me. I was growing very uncomfortable.

Finally the water was ready, so I turned my back on him to fix the tea. As I was putting the bag into the cup, he spoke. "I heard you last night talking to your father." I stopped dead in my tracks. I spun to look at him, but before I could say anything, he continued: "Don't try to deny anything or say that you don't know what I'm talking about. I woke up last night-everyone else was asleep, but you were gone. I figured you'd gone to the bathroom, but I didn't see a blanket or pillow set up for you.

"So then I figured that if you weren't in the bathroom, then you'd be in the library-where you told us you spend most of your time. I decided to join you-I'm interested in the books in Francis' collection. When I arrived, the door was open a little and I peered through.

"I saw you hugging Francis and crying; then you got up and started talking. I don't normally eavesdrop, but you're typically so quiet, it was entertaining to me to see you so talkative. I was just about to leave when Francis asked you about where you came from.

"Now, I was under the impression that you were abandoned at an orphanage, so I must admit that this topic intrigued me. Naturally, human curiosity got the better of me, so I stayed and listened. At first, I thought that you two couldn't be serious. I told myself that you were telling him the setting of a story or something. I went back to bed and was still awake when you joined us.

"It wasn't until this morning, when I saw your reaction to Peter's comment, that I knew you were completely serious. Even now, I can see the panic and fear in your eyes."

"S-so now…now what? Are you going to tell others about this?" If I'd thought my panic earlier was a near-heart attack, then what I felt at that moment must have been a stroke-strong enough to kill.

"There's no point in that, no one would believe me. Besides, you don't tell others your friends' secrets. That's just not right."

"So then…why confront me about it?" I can't even describe how I felt at that moment. It was like the floor beneath my feet had suddenly given way to a pool full of frenzying sharks, and I was falling right for the middle of the madness. But just as I was reaching the first shark's mouth, thinking that there was no hope left, I land on a glass surface covering the top of the pool, saving me from certain death.

"Because, as I said before, I'm curious. Why are you here? How did you get here? What abilities do you have? What do you really look like?"

I held up my hands to stop him. "Please, lower your voice; I, obviously, don't want anyone else to know." I checked to make sure no one was listening outside of the kitchen. "I got here through a teleportation machine; as I said last night, my people are a lot more advanced than humans. I really don't want to discuss why I'm here-that's very personal." He nodded to show he was OK with that.

"I also don't want to _show_ you my abilities out of fear that one of the others will walk in, but I'm psychic and can turn my body into water. I can also control water-to an extent. And as for showing you my true form, I can't do that. I would, if I could, but I don't have a form-changer here. A form-changer is what turned me human-it basically mutates your body to become that of a different race or species."

"Cool."

"So you're seriously not going to tell anyone else?"

He smiled-it was small and very brief, but it was still a smile. "I don't have any reason to."

I grinned back at him, "Thank you."

We talked some more as I brought Francis his tea-which I had to re-heat. I knocked on his door, heard him groan and shift in his bed, and entered the room. "Francis, it's time to wake up; it's just about noon."

He groaned again, "Alright, Matthieu. I'll be up in a bit. I just need to…to…"

"Don't fall back asleep! I will turn the lights on if I have to!"

"Mon Dieu, please don't! I'm not going back to sleep-I'm trying to wake up…"

I smiled. "You could start by opening your eyes. Here," I said as I set his cup on the side table, "I brought you your tea." He opened his eyes and sat up slowly. Then he picked up the cup and held it to his nose, smiling dreamily.

"Merci, Matthieu. You spoil me, you know…" He took an appreciative sip at the hot beverage.

I laughed, "I spoil you? Who's the one who bought me an entire wardrobe in one day? Who's the one who bought me a trunk full of games in one go because I said that we had none?" I sat on the edge of his bed. "Who's the one who let me have four friends over for the entire weekend without a second thought?" My voice got quieter as my smile grew, "Who's the one who adopted a strange boy he'd found in the woods?

"If that's not spoiling someone, then I don't know what is."

He laughed, "Mon cher, you have yet to break the surface of getting spoiled. All of that was doing what was natural-and right-even if I went a tad overboard with the games." He poked my side, making me giggle-which caused a mischievous gleam to come to his eyes. "Oh-ho, so you're ticklish are you~?"

I tried to cease my giggling, "N-no, I'm not!" It didn't work.

Francis sat his cup back on his table and came at me with his hands in front of him, wiggling his fingers menacingly. "You're not, are you?"

"No! Francis!" I yelped as he poked my gut. And the war began. He came at me with gusto-tears streamed down my face I was laughing so hard. "S-stop-hahaha!" Francis!" Suddenly, I turned my body to water and his hands went right through, soaking his shirt sleeves immediately." Haha, now you can't tickle me!" I grinned triumphant.

But that didn't stop Francis; he just kept wiggling his fingers inside my guttural area-it felt really weird, and somehow still tickled! "N-no! How is this possible?" I could feel my concentration weaken as I laughed. "F-Francis, you'd better take your hands out if you don't want them to get stuck inside my solid body!"

He pulled them out just in time for the water to wash off of me. He smirked, "You just can't escape me can you?" He was about to lunge forward again, but I grabbed a pillow and smacked him in the face.

"I may not win, but I'll still fight to the bitter end!"

"Oh, so it's going to be that way, huh?" He chucked the pillow back at me and we started an intense pillow fight. By this time, we were making such a racket that the others had come upstairs to see what was going on. They stood next to Kaoru-whom I'd forgotten was there.

We stopped throwing pillows at each other and looked at our audience. We looked at each other and smiled in mutual agreement. I stood up on the bed and shouted, "Let the all-out pillow fight commence-every man for himself!" Francis and I proceeded to throw pillows at the others, who laughed and joined us on the bed.

It was so much fun; there were feathers strewn about everywhere. I had fallen off the bed at one point, and Francis' tea got knocked over-luckily we cleaned it up before it could do serious damage.

We were still going at it when I heard footsteps on the stairs. We all stopped and listened. I turned to Francis questioningly, and he shrugged. We weren't expecting anyone, and all of my friends were with us.

The feathers were still floating to the floor and a familiar figure stepped through the door. "Okay, who dares have a pillow fight without the awesome me?"

"Gilbert!" I smiled and ran to give him a hug.

"Hallo, Mattie! I rang the doorbell, but no one answered," he said, returning my hug. He turned and shouted down the hall, "Hey, Toni! Get your ass up here; they're in Frannie's room!"

Francis threw a pillow at him, "I keep telling you to stop calling me that, _Gilly_. And watch your language! There are children here!"

Gilbert flicked the light on and noticed my friends. I smiled as I introduced them. "Gil, I told you I was having friends over. This is Peter, Tÿr, Kaoru, and Raivis. Everyone, this is Gilbert, and that's Antonio," he had just walked in.

He smiled cheerily, "Hola, it's nice to meet you! Francis, you're having a pillow fight without us? That's so mean!"

Peter gave them a weird look. "What kind of adult has pillow fights?"

The Bad Touch Trio grinned and answered simultaneously, "Us!" They then proceeded to throw pillows at us. We laughed and retaliated-the free-for-all becoming a battle between young and younger.

We were all worn out by the time the "war" ended; we laid strewn out all over the room trying to catch our breath. "Francis," I panted, "you're going to have to get new pillows."

He laughed very breathlessly, "Oui, and a professional cleaning lady. I'm not sure _how_ we're going to get this mess sorted out."

"It was worth it, though." Everyone agreed with me. "Oh yeah, Francis, would you be able to take the guys home?"

"Oui, just give me a moment to compose myself…and change…so I'm going to have to ask you all to leave."

"OK, merci boucoup. Hey, Gil, come see what Francis got us for my sleepover!" I led everyone back to the T.V. room and showed Gil and Antonio our new games.

Antonio and Gilbert's eyes twinkled when we showed the xbox and its games. They were "duking it out," so to speak, on Soul Caliber when Francis came down.

"Really you two, such childishness! If anything you should be playing Guitar Hero or Rock Band so the others can play, too."

I laughed, "It's OK, Francis; they have to get home so it wouldn't be a good idea for them to start playing video games again."

"You've got a point there. Alright, is everyone ready to go?"

"We've got our bags."

"Wait, Peter, isn't this yours?"

Oh, right! My math book…thank you Raivis…I wouldn't dream of forgetting that…"

Raivis smiled knowingly, "Of course not. Here, I'll put it into your bag for you." Francis went outside to start the car.

I followed my friends to the door. "I'm going to stay and keep Antonio and Gilbert company so they won't be left alone in my house-that would be weird for them, I'm sure."

"OK. Thanks for having us over! Best sleepover I've ever been to!"

Raivis laughed, "same here! It was a lot of fun."

Tÿr and Kaoru agreed. "We should do it again sometime."

"Definitely." I looked to Kaoru and our eyes met. I thanked him again in my head and he nodded in acknowledgement. They piled into Francis' car and I waved until they were out of sight. I jumped when I head Gil's voice behind me. 'How did he sneak up on me?' I wondered to myself.

"Why didn't you go with them?" I smiled and looked up at his face behind me.

"Because it's been rude to leave guests unattended in one's own home."

He grinned back and pinched my cheek. "Since when have Toni and I been classified as 'guests?' You could have gone with them, we wouldn't have minded."

"Yeah, that way you could eat up all of our food!" I laughed.

His face went dark in mock horror, "Crap; Toni, he's on to us! Grab all the food and pop you can and let's get out of here!" I laughed harder and shut the door as we went back inside. Gil joined me in laughter when Antonio stepped out of the kitchen with an armful of snacks and pop, and a mouthful of the last slice of pizza.

"Wat?" He mumbled around the food, "Ah'm hun-ry. Di' 'ou 'ay 'ome'ing ear'ier, 'i'ber'?"*

We laughed harder. Gil replied, "Dude, chew your food. Let's go play Guitar Hero! I'm guitar!"

Antonio corrected him, "Oh no, you suck at guitar. Here," he handed him a microphone, "you can sing. I'll be guitar; Matthew, do you want to play drums or bass?"

"Um…I've never played either…"

He thought for a moment. "Hmmm, I think bass would be easier than drums. Here," he handed me one of the guitars. "Do you know what to do?"

I nodded, "Yes, I watched the others play. Peter was pretty good; apparently he plays it a lot with his older brother's boyfriend."

No one felt like taking the time to make characters, so we just used the default ones and made a playlist. As we went through the list of songs, I noticed one in particular near the bottom.

"What's that one-that one in German…_Waidmanns Heil_?"

Gil grinned, "Nice choice, Mattie! I love this song!"

Antonio rolled his eyes, "You would. Have we picked all the songs we want?" We nodded so he pushed play.

I started out playing on beginner-to get a feel for the game-and slowly progressed in difficulty song by song.

Gil and Antonio looked at me, amused. "Mattie, are you sure you can handle hard? It's really fast…"

"I'll be fine; I'm trying to find the level I'm most comfortable with."

They shrugged. "Alright, your funeral, amigo."

I glanced warily at him only to see that he was joking. The song started and it took me a bit to get used to the speed and the addition of the orange button.

Gil grinned at me, "We can start over if you want to change back to medium." I shook my head no.

"That's alright, I just need to get used to it." Finally my eyes adjusted and I could keep up. When I found my focus it was as if the screen was going in slow-motion. I could see each note and measure its space accordingly. Getting the signals from my brain to my fingers was a little trickier, but eventually I got the hang of it.

I could see the shock on the others' faces out of the corner of my eye, but I couldn't look away from the screen for fear of losing my concentration. At the end of the song I had to rub my fingers and my arm-they weren't used to such speed and dexterity.

"Matthew…Are you sure you've never played before? That was amazing!"

I blinked to clear my eyes. "Of course I'm sure. It's not that hard to play; all you have to do is slow it down with your mind, then it's just a matter of getting your fingers to hit the right buttons at the right time."

They just looked at me with bewilderment. "Mattie…that's a lot harder than I think you realize…especially at the rate you're going."

"Sí, for most people it takes quite a bit of practice before they can advance."

I was surprised. "Really? I never realized…" I shrugged, "Oh well, whatever. Can we continue? This is fun!" I smiled. They laughed and Antonio pushed continue.

I changed my difficulty to 'expert' and was disappointed by how slow it was going. I decided to loosen my focus to speed it up a bit more. It still wasn't enough, so I loosened it more and more until I was satisfied with a fast, but still fun, pace that I could keep up with.

I continued playing on expert throughout the rest of the playlist. Francis had returned just in time for our last song, 'Waidmanns Heil' by a group called _Rammstein_. He was speechless.

"Tre magifique, Matthieu! Have you considered learning to play an actual instrument? I think you'd be really good at it!"

I looked at him, mildly surprised, "Really? I don't really listen to music, so I don't know what I'd like…" I started thinking about it, playing the rest of the song subconsciously. I stood there my fingers still playing the notes even though the song had ended, completely lost in thought.

"_Mattie…Mattie!_ Hello? Earth to Mattie!" I came to with a start, taking my hands from the guitar.

"I'm sorry, what? I wasn't paying attention."

Gilbert laughed, "Obviously. Didn't you hear Frannie? He said he thinks you would really enjoy playing the violin. You should look into it! I'd love to hear you play!"

"¡Yo también! You would be really excellent, Matthew!"

I blushed and looked down, "I'll look into it…"

We took Guitar Hero out of the xbox and put Rock Band in, setting up the drums for Francis. We played a setlist and by the time we were done, we were worn out.

"That was fun, but I suppose we should start cleaning up now." Everyone looked around the room. There were blankets, pillows, board games and their pieces, plates, pop cans, the boxes from the band sets, and xbox stuff strewn out all over the place. Then there was also Francis' feather-infested bedroom.

Francis laughed dryly, "I suppose you're right. Come on you two, you can help!"

"What? But we didn't make this mess!"

Antonio laughed and pulled the mock-protesting Prussian to his feet. "Come on, amigo, it's rude to just sit here as they clean."

We picked everything up, clearing some shelf space for our new games. Gil helped me fold the blankets and carried the pillows back to the spare bedroom where they were stored.

"So did you have a good time with your friends?"

I nodded, "I'd never had a sleepover like that before! I never knew they could be so much fun!"

He smiled, "I'm happy to hear that. So are you excited to be starting high school?"

"Very! What's it like?"

"Well…it depends on the people you're around and your own mindset. For me it was fun, but at the same time I hated it. I wouldn't necessarily call myself 'rebellious,' but I also didn't care. I didn't care what classes I took, what grades I got (I knew I was smart), if anyone liked or disliked me (there were plenty of both)-Hell, I didn't even care if I graduated. The only reason I ever really went to school was so that I could be a good influence for West, and so I could hang out with Toni and Frannie."

"Really? You didn't like learning?"

"Oh I loved learning-still do. It was just the whole idea of school that annoyed me. The way I saw it was if you passed, you were average; if you got excellent grades, then you were a favorite-a prospect for a successful future-which was way too stressful for a lot of kids, not just me; and then if you were failing, that's exactly what you were: a failure who wouldn't amount to much.

"It really just pissed me off the way we were categorized like that. I could have easily been a 'straight-A' student, but I didn't want that. So I made myself a failure-yet still doing just enough that I passed all of my classes and graduated with the others."

"Wow…so is high school really that bad?" I was starting to get nervous.

He noticed this and quickly held up his hands and corrected me. "No! No, I didn't mean it like that-that was only how I perceived it! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you like that. High school could be a completely different experience for you."

I smiled. "Thank you."

He was somewhat taken aback, "for what? Making you dread school?"

I laughed and gently shook my head. "No, for caring about me."

**Gilbert's POV:**

I was startled, to say the least. It wasn't the first time he had told me something like that, so I know I shouldn't have reacted that way every time…but he would always say it with such sincerity…and the sorrow he tried so hard to hide always surfaced for the briefest of moments.

I could do nothing more than hug the boy. It was so wrong what I felt toward him…but I couldn't help it. One thing was for sure: no matter what happened, no one (especially Mattie) could ever find out that I was falling in love with a child. I promised myself that day that I would never act upon my feelings; I would be his best friend-his brother-and I would protect him.

"Matthew, I will always be here to care for you. You're not alone; you have me, a father who adores you, Antonio, your friends from middle school, and the friend's you'll be making in high school. Put your trust in us and we'll try our damned hardest to be there for you."

~O0O~

**Matthew's POV:**

It was late at night when Gil left with Antonio. I was climbing into bed when Francis came in and sat on its edge.

"It was a big day today, wasn't it?"

I nodded sleepily, "Oui-" I broke off with a yawn.

He smiled, "tomorrow's going to be an even bigger day." He pulled my blankets over me and tucked me in.

"Oui, but I'm ready for it."

He chuckled. "I'm sure. Good night, Matthieu."

"Good night, Papa…." I fell asleep immediately.

* * *

><p><strong>*"What? I'm hungry. Did you say something earlier, Gilbert?"<strong>

**So that was chapter three :D As said before, please review. Oh, and yes, I know pedophile-feelings going on here, but like Gilbert said, he's not going to act on them, of that I can promise you. Oh, and I realize that Gilbert's little part at the end was kind of random, but I thought it was endearing :) Please note that at the very end, that was the first time EVER that Matthew called Francis "Papa" or anything similar. Until now, he's always just called him Francis. He may call him Papa every now and then, but it's something he's still not entirely comfortable with, so he usually just plays it safe with his name.  
><strong>

**Next chapter is going to be Mattie's first day of high school. The climax of the story is coming up soon, but, as I have yet to get started on chapter 4, I'm not sure if it's going to happen then, or wait until chapter 5...chapter 4 may end up very short in comparison to the others...I don't know, we'll just have to wait and see... (:**

**Well, as they say in Italy, "Hasta la Pasta!" Have a great (enter time expanse here) until my next update!**


End file.
